Master of Science, Michigan State University, 1996. May 2007 ..... practices in physical education teacher education programs (i.e., perceived levels of racial ...
ASSESSING ETHNORELATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PREPAREDNESS IN PETE PROGRAMS
Dissertation Submitted to Graduate faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of Kinesiology
by Joe W. Burden, Jr. Bachelor of Science, Norfolk (Va.) State University, 1994 Master of Science, Michigan State University, 1996 May 2007
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge my mother for her continuous love and support throughout my childhood and inspiration during the doctoral process. I give great thanks and appreciation to my instructors at Louisiana State University, specifically, Dr. Melinda Solmon, Dr. Bob Mathews, Dr. Leornard Moore, and my advisor Dr. Louis Harrison, Jr. and department chair Dr. Amelia Lee, who always provided the guidance and encouragement that I needed throughout the program. I also would like to thank the Rutgers University Office of Statistical Consulting for their advice and consultation during my analysis of quantitative data in this study.
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FOREWORD This dissertation consists of three manuscripts which will be submitted for publication. The first and third study, Chapter 2 and Chapter 4, are qualitative studies and the second study, Chapter 3, is a quantitative study. The manuscripts explore teacher educators and pre-service students’ perspectives and competence for implementing culturally relevant pedagogical practices in K-12 physical education settings.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………...ii FOREWORD……………………………………………………………………...iii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………….....v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………….......1 2 EXAMINING PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER EDUCATORS DELIVERY OF ETHNORELATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES……..………...…7 3 ASESSESSING PETE PRE-SERVICE STUDENTS LEVELS OF ETHNORELATIVE AWARENESS AND PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCE …………..………………...58 4 A QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF PRE-SERVICE STUDENTS DESCRIPTIONS OF ETHNORELATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PREPAREDNESS IN PETE PROGRAMS …………………………………………….....86 5 SUMMARY…………………………………………..…………....... 119 REFERENCES....................................................................................………… ..125 VITA.....................................................................................................................136
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ABSTRACT Previously, multicultural education literature has highlighted the increase of ethnically diverse students’ growth in American public K-12 schools (Articles & McClafferty, 1998; Ladson-Billings, 1994). On the other hand, the literature reveals that many teachers are failing to appropriately exhibit culturally relevant pedagogical competence to accommodate the growth of students of color in American schools (NCDTF, 2004). Oftentimes, this contributes to the development of pre-service teachers that lack culturally relevant pedagogical preparation to teach students of color in American K-12 schools (Burden, Hodge, O’Bryant & Harrison, 2004; Ambrosio, Seguin, & Hogan, 2001). Thus, this study sought out to better understand how PETE teacher educators and pre-service students describe their methods of inclusion, teaching, and learning, as it relates to culturally relevant pedagogical preparedness. The study involved a phenomenological investigation of (8) teacher educators across (5) NCATE Accredited PETE programs about their pedagogical experiences with the phenomena of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) inclusion in curricula practices. In addition, (N=239) preservice students across the (5) PETE Programs were assessed on their color-blind racial attitudes (racial awareness) and its relationship to their culturally relevant pedagogical skills and knowledge competence. Also, pre-service students’ written descriptions were assessed via qualitative content analysis. Findings from this study revealed that PETE teacher educators experienced a) ethnocentric beliefs regarding students of color learning styles, behaviors, and preferences in K12 physical education settings, b) that their White American pre-service students ‘feared’ teaching in schools with a high composition of ethnically/racially diverse students, c) that their programs lacked students and faculty of color, which the faculty indicated to add to the multicultural
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intelligence within the PETE program, and d) that more direct exposure in diverse settings would add to the multicultural teaching competence. Furthermore, findings indicate that pre-service students’ awareness of racial and social inequalities is slightly associated with their reported levels of multicultural pedagogical skill competence. In addition, the pre-services students ‘written descriptions’ of their CRP preparedness indicated that their PETE methods courses and social interactions contributed the most to how they describe their learning of CRP practices and strategies.
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Recently, the US Census Bureau documented the growing trend of ethnic and racially diverse populations in the US. They estimate (in millions) of 38.8 Hispanics, 36.6 Blacks, 3.5 Native Americans, and 0.8 Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islanders residing in the US (Nasser, 2003). Literature reveals that United States Pre K-12 schools are transforming in dynamics demographically, as the student population becomes more diverse. The racial/ethnic background, socio-economic status, linguistic orientation, and cultural identity of students are now embedded within our schools with more variation than in previous years (Futrell, Gomez, & Bedden, 2003). A National Center for Educational Statistics (2000) report indicated that students of color composed 37% of the total public school population, reflecting a 15% increase since 1972. Futrell et al. (2003) revealed that currently our nation’s elementary and secondary schools’ enrollments have reached 53 million children, 35% of whom are ethnically diverse. Further, Futrell et al. (2003) projected that students of color enrollments will increase to 51% by the year 2050. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Commerce (1996) projected that by the year 2050 African American, Asian American, and Latino/Latina students will constitute close to 57% of all students in US schools. Teacher education scholars, including those in physical education, have highlighted the disparities between cultural and ethnic diversity of school children and their teachers ((Burden, et. al, 2004; Gay & Kirkland, 2003, Howard, 2003; McIntrye, 1997). In fact, numerous resources have reported that despite the nation's school population becoming increasingly diverse, the teaching force in K-12 public schools remains between 85- 90% White Americans (Banks & Banks, 2001; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2001; NCDTF, 2004). Specific to K-12 physical education, Smith (1993) noted the disparity between the percentages of school-aged children of color (30%) and their physical education teachers of color (5%). This literature reveals
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that the shortage of teachers of color highlights the significance for teacher educators in PETE programs to develop effective methods of training pre-service teachers’ cultural competence relevant to students of color in the future. In an effort to explore the prevalence of a White American teaching force, in November of 2001, more than 20 of the nation’s leading organizations came together for a three day summit entitled “Losing Ground: A National Summit on Diversity in the Teaching Force”. This summit brought participants together to review research on culturally responsive pedagogy on school children and to have enlightened discussions on the roles that ethnicity and cultural competence have on student achievement. Further, participants studied demographic data on the growth of diversity among American schoolchildren and the static composition of the teaching force. After participants review of this information, they voiced concern about the demographic disparities and their negative impact on the quality of education for all schoolchildren. Thus, the participating organizations agreed on the need to develop the National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force. Therefore, the National Collaborative on Diversity in Americas Teaching Force was developed and was composed of six leading education groups. These groups involve the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), American Council on Education (ACE), Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), Community Teachers Institute (CTI), National Education Association (NEA), and Recruiting New Teachers (RNT). The primary mission of the Collaborative is to inject the issues of teacher diversity and cultural competence into education policy debate at state and national levels. Therefore, on November 9th, 2004, the (AACTE) as part of the National Collaborative on Diversity in America’s Teaching Force, joined with the (NEA) in hosting a press conference at (NEA) headquarters to release a report on the state of teacher diversity in American schools. The
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report titled, “Assessment of Diversity in America’s Teaching Force”, examined the relationship between educational achievement and teacher diversity (NEA, 2004). The report concludes that 1) diversity and cultural competence of teachers are key to improving the quality of student achievement. This finding reported that students of color tend to have higher academic, personal, and social performance when taught by teachers from their own ethnic backgrounds. Despite this connection, the report warns that this finding does not mean that culturally competent teachers cannot have the same success with students of color from different backgrounds. In addition, the report concludes that teachers of color and culturally competent teachers must be recruited and supported in teacher education programs. This finding reported that 40% of American public schools do not have one teacher of color on staff. Also, the report revealed that barriers for candidates of color across teacher education must be identified and reduced; and resources to meet the institutional needs for teachers of color must be improved. Overall, this report revealed that there is a dire need to increase teachers of color in teacher education and professional programs, as well as improve pedagogical strategies which assist in preparing culturally competent teachers’ of all colors in American public schools. Confronted with the potential decline of African American and other teachers of color desiring or prepared to teach in ethnically diverse settings, there is a high probability that many White American novice teachers will find initial employment in multi-ethnic diverse schools (Burden, et al, 2004; Haberman, 1999; Stroot & Whipple, 2003). Thus, it becomes important that we prepare our pre-service teachers in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs to adequately deal with the increase in students of color in American schools (Burden, et al, 2004). Assessing teacher educators and pre-service teachers’ practices, beliefs, and competencies in PETE programs, regarding culturally responsive pedagogical preparedness is instrumental for
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effective curricula reform to manifest. If this examination of teachers ethnorelative competency is ignored, it may leave these teachers ill-prepared to enter increasingly ethnically diverse schools (Burden, et al., 2004; Stroot & Whipple, 2003). Increasing our understanding of teacher educators/pre-service teachers’ awareness, knowledge, and skills relevant to culturally responsive pedagogical preparedness in PETE programs would allow teacher educators and pre-service teachers to become more cognizant of ethnorelative issues relevant to teaching and learning (Burden et al, 2004). Rejection of the culturally responsive pedagogical preparedness in PETE programs curricula may be detrimental since we cannot truly expect pre-service teachers who have had little or no interaction or experience with teaching students of color to adapt as inservice teachers or professionals (Hodge, 2003; Burden,et al, 2004). Increasingly, teacher education literature advocates the values of ethnorelative pedagogical practices and programming in teacher education preparation (Cross, 2003; Howard, 2003; TalbertJohnson & Tillman, 1999). The extant literature confirms that ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse settings foster positive learning and social outcomes for both students and faculty of varied ethnicities and cultures (ACE/AAUP, 2000; Aguiree & Martinez 2002; Antonio, Chang, Hakuta, Kenny, Levin, & Milem, 2004; Banks, 1994; 1999; 2001; Bowen & Bok, 1998; Chang, 1999). Growe, Schershaul, Perry, and Henry (2002) assert that it is important for faculty and administrators to value ethnic diversity in an effort to increase their students’ appreciation for ethnic diversity through curricular reform. In advocating ethnorelativism in PETE programming and practices, scholars have called for recognizing and valuing of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences of IHE faculty, school teachers, and students in physical education programs (Burden
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& Harrison, 2003; Burden, et, al., 2004, Burden, Harrison, & Hodge, 2005; DeSensi, 1995; Hodge, 2003; Krisha, 2000, Pittman, 2003; Stanley, 1995). Thus, the following research study consisted of three assessments. The first study involved a quantitative survey assessment of self reported data from pre-service teachers assessing competency (knowledge/skill) for teaching students of color and (awareness) of racial privilege/equality. Second, a qualitative study was employed to evaluate teacher educator’s : (a) methods and frameworks for culturally relevant pedagogical curricular inclusion and (b) dilemma’s confronting pre-service teachers’ ethnorelative preparedness in PETE programs. The third assessment involved a qualitative content analysis of pre-service student’s textual descriptions regarding their multicultural pedagogical competence. Hopefully, this research will add to physical education teacher education literature by shedding light on: 1.
Pre-service teachers’ levels of preparedness for culturally competent pedagogical practices in physical education teacher education programs (i.e., perceived levels of racial awareness, knowledge, and skills relevant to teaching students of color).
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Physical education teacher educators beliefs as ethnorelative challenges for teaching students of color in future physical education settings; and their beliefs/methods of inclusion in curricula practices for developing cultural competence of pre-service teachers in PETE programs.
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Effectiveness of specific implementations/interventions related to culturally responsive pedagogical practices.
Further understanding of these issues is warranted to identify strengths, weaknesses, and attitudes relative to the implementation of ethnorelative pedagogical practices/methods for teacher educators to effectively prepare pre-service students across PETE curricula structures. 5
Information gained from these studies will further help to fill in the gap in the extant literature regarding ethnorelative pedagogical practices, in an effort to achieve cultural preparedness of novice teachers in PETE programs.
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CHAPTER 2: EXAMINING PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER EDUCATORS DELIVERY OF ETHNORELATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES INTRODUCTION McIntyre (1997) suggested that, being White and coming from a similar background as most of her pre-service students create an illusion of tranquility because "similarity can blind us to our own complicity in the perpetuation of racist talk and the uncritical acceptance of racist actions" (p. 7).Thus, when pre-service students matriculate through teacher education programs without ever becoming aware of or immersed in ethnorelative pedagogical practices, they are often left ill-prepared for the cultural competency necessary to effectively teach in urban and multiethnic settings. Le roux (2001) points out Almost everywhere in the world, an increasingly diverse school population encounters a predominantly white middle class teaching force that is inadequately prepared to manage the reality of diversity in schools. Internationally, the general tendency is for teacher training programs to neglect or ignore diversity issues in formal education (pp.45-46). Scholars point out that teacher educators often fail to critically reflect on the influences of their own racial identity, teaching practices, and its influence on their pre-service teachers. This limits pre-service teachers from sharing of valuable experiences among students of color (LeCompte & McCray, 2000; Montecinos, 2004; Townsend, 2002). This may also lead to the development of pre-service teachers that lack culturally relevant pedagogical preparation necessaryto teach students of color in American K-12 schools (Ambrosio, Seguin, & , Hogan, 2001; Articles & McClafferty, 1998; Cross, 2003; Howard, 2000; 2003; LeCompte & McCray, 2002; Milner, Flowers, Moore, & Flowers, 2003; National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems, 2004; National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force, 2004). Research suggests that this pedagogical deficiency in some instances results from the fact that
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many teacher education programs fail to meet pre-service teachers needs because of insufficient multicultural education or methodical approaches in their curriculum, (Ambrosio, et, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1995c; Tomlinson-Clarke, 2002). Gary Howard’s (1999) book titled: “We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools” addresses this concern specifically by stating: “Too often we place White teachers in multicultural settings and expect them to behave in ways that are not consistent with their own life experiences, socialization patterns, worldviews, and levels of racial identity development…we expect White teachers to be what they have not learned to be, namely multiculturally competent people” (p. 4). In several cases, novice physical education teachers and faculty of color have echoed these same sentiments (Burden, Harrison, & Hodge, 2005; O’Bryant, O’Sullivan, & Raudensky, 2000). Burden, et al. critical race analysis of teacher education faculty of color in physical education programs revealed that in some instances these faculty felt their departments curricula paradigms were ethnically and theoretically deficient and were not structured to include ethnorelative perspectives. Thus, these faculty of color believed that there existed a cultural mismatch related to curricular structures. Specific to these beliefs, the literature revealed that administrators, teacher educators and in/pre-service teachers have had difficulty with competence relating to pedagogical practices to address the needs of the increasing numbers of non-white students in American schools (Burden, et al, 2004; National Collaborative on Diversity in The Teaching Force, 2004). For instance, data indicates that a large percentage of principals in high-poverty schools in the Northwest region of the U.S wanted to devote more effort to addressing disparities in performance among students based on race, ethnicity, language, disability, and poverty (Barnett & Greenough,
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2004). Furthermore, Barnett & Greenough found that principals and teachers aspired to place more effort into infusing a variety of culturally responsive classroom practices to meet the diverse learning needs of their students Literature reveals that many teacher education programs fail to appropriately prepare preservice teachers by attempting to accomplish culturally relevant pedagogy in teacher education through the completion of a “single multicultural course” (Burden et al., 2004; Larke, 1990; Milner et al., 2003; Tomlinson-Clarke, 2000; Townsend, 2002). Scholars argue that the single course method alone has not proven to be effective because ethnorelative approaches and practices should be an integral part of the curriculum (Burden et al., 2004; Milner et al., 2003; Tomlinson-Clarke, 2000). This single course approach does a disservice to pre-service students and often leaves them ill prepared to utilize culturally relevant pedagogical approaches that would facilitate student learning (Hodge, 2003; Milner et al., 2003). Tomlinson-Clarke’s (2000) qualitative analysis of pre-service teachers’ competencies after a multicultural course revealed that participants still felt that they lacked adequate culturally relevant proficiency. Also, Tomlinson-Clarke reported that students felt that they still needed additional training to develop professional and personal self awareness of ethnorelative knowledge, despite completion of a multicultural course. Milner et al. (2003) suggested that more culturally relevant training opportunities be included in teacher education curriculum in a majority of courses. Therefore, more research is needed to better understand ways teacher educators’ provide culturally relevant pedagogical models for preparing pre-service teachers to meet the needs of diverse learners and their differing learning styles in physical education (Burden et al., 2004; Hodge et al., 2003; Kozub et al., 1999). Despite the abundance of multicultural education and
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counseling literature which supports a variety of models for moving teachers and counselors toward culturally relevant practices (Boyer & Baptiste, 1996; Clark, 2002; Gay & Kirkland, 2003; Howard, 2001; Le Roux, 2001; Townsend, 2002), literature remains scarce for understanding effective culturally relevant models of inclusion specific to physical education teacher preparation (Hodge, S. R., Faison-Hodge,, & Burden, , 2004).. Thus, Burden et al. (2004) proposed that PETE programs help progress pre-service teachers from a state of colorblindness (ethnocentric views) to ethnorelative perspectives by infusing diversity training across the curriculum. In an effort to counter cultural mismatches in teaching and learning, multicultural education and counseling literature has advocated theoretical models for the transformation of teacher education curriculum through usage of culturally responsive philosophies and practices(Banks, 1994, 1995; Clark, 2002; Irvine & Armetto, 2001; Sue & Sue, 2003). CRP as a Vehicle to Understand Ethnorelative Pedagogical Approaches Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) was the theoretical construct which guided the construction of questions which were asked during this phenomenological inquiry. The term culturally responsive pedagogy is often used interchangeably with terms such as culturally compatible (Jacob & Jordan, 1987), culturally appropriate, culturally congruent (Au & Kawakami, 1994), and culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 1990; 1995a, 1995b) to explain the dynamics of effective pedagogical approaches in ethnically diverse classrooms (Irvine, 2003). All of these terms simply imply that teachers should be culturally responsive (Irvine, 2003, Villegas & Lucas, 2002) to produce pedagogical practices which accommodate their students’ cultural background. Irvine defines responsive as “reacting appropriately in the instructional context” (pg.73). Ladson-Billings (1994) describes culturally relevant teaching as
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a pedagogy that empowers students…by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These cultural referents are not merely vehicles for bridging or explaining the dominant culture; they are aspects of the curriculum in their own right (p. 18). CRP can be described as a pedagogical methodology to empower pre-service teachers with ethnorelative lens that enhance their competence and confidence to teach in multiethnic settings (Gay 2000; Gay & Kirkland, 2003; Irvine, 2003; Ladson-Billings, 1994; 1995a; 1995b; 2001; Lynn, 2004; National Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2004; Townsend, 2002; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). Scholars assert that preparing teacher educators for culturally responsive teaching is foremost because teachers are largely responsible for what and how students learn in the curriculum (Le Roux, 2001; Irvine, 2003). Gay & Kirkland (2003) state that culturally responsive teaching utilizes experiences, cultures, and perspectives of students of color. These premises suggest that 1) ethnorelative education and educational equality are connected; 2) teacher accountability includes being more self-reflective and incorporating a critical assessment of one’s own teaching beliefs and behaviors; and 3) teachers need to develop greater comprehension of what is to be taught, to whom, and how. Furthermore, the literature supports the view that culturally responsive teaching has been beneficial to pre-service teachers in teacher education programs (Lynn, 2004; Townsend, 2002). Culturally responsive instruction has also been depicted as that which (a) incorporates teachers' adaptations of subject-matter content to reflect the cultures of their students, and (b) assists students in becoming more cognizant and knowledgeable of their own ethnic cultures and those of others (Hood 1993;Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 1995b).
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Townsend goes further to propose that every teacher education program should require its students to receive a certification in CRP. As suggested earlier Townsend proposes that CRP should be infused into teacher education curriculum through the inclusion of peoples of color traditions, values, and norms, in the context of a variety of courses. Also, she states that upon completion of coursework, candidates should engage in practicum experiences in ethnically diverse settings and engage in weekly practicum seminars to discuss issues relevant to the teacher’s reflections on student differences relevant to culture and ethnicity. Further, Townsend warns that CRP training should be infused across the curriculum and not held stagnant to one or two courses in teacher education preparation. Therefore, to better understand the context of the teaching and learning of CRP in (PETE) curricula structures, the purpose of this phenomenological investigation of physical education teacher educators’ experiences is to provide a comprehension of how CRP is included/excluded from their PETE curricula practices. Hopefully, the information obtained in this study will contribute to the teacher education literature by illuminating the experiences, understanding of, and the degree to which, (PETE) educators describe their pedagogical experiences with preparing pre-service teachers’ in the understanding of culturally responsive pedagogical competence within the PETE curriculum. Selecting Phenomenology as the Conceptual Framework for the Inquiry Phenomenology is the study of lived experience or the life world and relates how people described things and experienced them through their senses (Laverty, 2003). Laverty (2003, p.4.) states that a phenomenological inquiry asks “What is this experience like?, as it attempts to unfold meanings as they are lived in everyday existence”.
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In phenomenological studies, researchers attempt to discover commonalities and shared meanings and perceptions of reality within a group of people in a specific context (in this case, teacher educators’ in PETE Programs) by systemically assessing their experiences in close detail (Giorgi & Giorgi, 2003; Seamon, 2003, Groenewald, 2004). Patton (2002, p.104) reveals that phenomenological methodologies carefully and thoroughly capture and describe how people experience some phenomenon, and “how they perceive it, describe it, feel about it, judge it, remember it, make sense of it, and talk about it with others”. Essentially it is most of these things that are phenomena, because humans can experience, encounter, or live through them in some aspect (Seamon, 2000). According to Giorgi & Giorgi (2003) phenomenological methods involve an analysis’ of the real world scenarios of people, in an attempt to better understand a description of how experiences are lived by individuals in society. Therefore, it is important to note that phenomenological studies are grounded in the lived experiences of individuals and attempts to describe and make meaning of the life experiences that occur in everyday life; and the experiences are common to a specific group of people (Knoche & Zamboanga, 2006). It is important to note that phenomenological research has different methodological approaches, existential and hermeneutic (von Eckartsberg, 1998a;1998b). In this study, we guide our research through the methodological underpinning of existential-phenomenological research. Generalizations are derived in existential-phenomenological research through understanding of the specific lived experiences of specific individuals and groups involved in specific situations and specific places (von Eckartsberg, 1999a;b ) Phenomenologist such as Giorgi (1985; 2003) have discussed steps in existentialphenomenological that are somewhat consistent to von Eckartsberg’s, four stages. Therefore, we
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utilized existential-phenomenology techniques as described by Hycner (1999) and Giorgi (1985, 2003) during data collection and analysis procedures. The fundamental goal in existentialphenomenology is that the participants accounts, when assessed with precision and evaluated collectively, illustrate thematic meaning if researchers ‘bracket’ their notion of dispositions in quest of open dialogue, which translates the experience (von Eckartsberg, 1998b;). Thus, assessing the human experience and personal meaning related to teacher educators lived pedagogical experiences with CRP practices in PETE curricula structures lends itself to the realm of a phenomenological interpretive framework and was accordingly selected to guide the conceptual foundations of this study. Phenomenology, a popular and traditional qualitative research paradigm, was utilized to better understand teacher educators lived pedagogical experiences with inclusion of culturally responsive pedagogical practices exhibited in (PETE) curricula structures. METHODOLOGY According to phenomenologist, there are a number of methodological applications which can apply to a phenomenological investigation and the researcher is free to designate techniques which will facilitate their understanding (Hycner, 1999; Laverty, 2003; Morrisey & Higgs, 2006; Seamon, 2000). The researchers designated the methodological application of existentialphenomenology in this investigation to elicit rich dialogue (texts) in addition to thematic and structural meanings/understandings of the teacher educators lived experience of CRP inclusion across the PETE curriculum. The researchers methodically conducted the data collection and analysis by establishing a set of procedures and techniques related to existential-phenomenonology. van Eckartsberg (1998b, p. 21), defined existential-phenomenology as "the analysis of protocol data provided by research [respondents] in response to a question posed by the researcher that pinpoints
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and guides their recall and reflection." van Eckartsberg recommends that phenomenologist follow four steps in the process, which involve. : (1) identifying the phenomenon in which the phenomenologist is interested; (2) collection of accounts from participants regarding their experience of the phenomenon; (3) methodically assessing the participants accounts with the intention of identifying any commonalities, themes, and patterns; and (4) presenting results in scholarly manner. In the following, we will provide a step by step account of these four stages throughout our collection and analysis phases in this study. During the third stage (data analysis), the researchers utilized Hycner‘s (1999) explication process and Giorgi & Giorgi (2003a, 2003b) phenomenological techniques, where gathering both thematic and structural understanding of lived experience and/ or phenomena are emphasized. Phase One: Identification of the Phenomenon of Interest by the Researchers This process involved a thorough review of the literature, in quest for previous research and issues regarding CRP in schooling practices, in an effort to conceptualize how and what we already know about the phenomenon. Consistent with the theoretical aims of a phenomenological investigation, our review focused on teachers and teacher educators lived experiences and pedagogical perspectives in regard to inclusion of CRP strategies and practices in educational settings. During our search, we found an abundance of resources in the physical education literature which speaks to the lack of culturally prepared teachers, but little is known about the descriptions of teacher educators in regard to their lived pedagogical experiences with the inclusion of CRP in PETE programs Thus, the purpose for this phenomenological study was to add to our understanding and description of PETE teacher educators’ lived pedagogical experiences with inclusion of CRP in PETE programs. Contributing to this literature will provide administrators
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and teacher educators of PETE programs with a better understanding of teacher educators experienced successes and failure in conjunction with the inclusion of CRP strategies and practices in PETE curricula. In an effort to shed light on future strategies that may facilitate preservice teachers pedagogical preparation to accommodate ethnically diverse students, we must first begin with understanding explanations of the realities of teacher educators experiences with inclusion of CRP practices and strategies in the classroom. Phase Two: Collection of Participants Descriptive Accounts of the Phenomenon Sampling and Participants The goal of participant selection in phenomenological research is to purposefully select participants who have lived experience that is related to the phenomenon of interest in the study (Kruger, 1988), and those who are diverse enough to enhance the opportunity for rich stories of the particular experience, and those who consent to an open dialogue regarding their attitudes about their experience (Lavery, 2003; Polkinghorne,1989; van Manen, 1997). Therefore, to better understand teacher educators lived pedagogical experiences with the inclusion of CRP in PETE curricula structures, the researchers’ purposefully selected and recruited teacher educators whom were 1) tenure track faculty members at NCATE accredited PETE programs, and 2) who taught courses within the (K-12) PETE curriculum (i.e., field experiences, practicum’s, methods courses). In addition, the researchers relied on using snowball sampling to select participants for this study. This sampling strategy is a method whereby some of the initial participants in this study were able to further identify colleagues or other teacher educators whom could serve as beneficial to the study (Patton, 2002). Through purposeful and snowball sampling, (n=8), 4 women and 4 men, teacher educators across (5) NCATE accredited PETE programs in the Northeastern region of the United States
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were recruited to participate in this study. An overview of the demographics relating to the purposefully selected sample is illustrated in Table 2.1, which includes breakdowns by the number and percentage of participants by gender, race, level, and socio-economic status. Each participant selected had been very involved in teaching courses within a PETE program at the time of the study. Table 2.1 Participant Demographics (Gender) 4- Women (50%) 4-Men (50%) (Race) 6- White Americans (75%) 1- Hispanic/Latino (12.5%) 1- Other (12.5%) (Level) 2-Professor (25%) 4-Associate Professors (50%) 2-Assistant Professor (25%) (SES) 7- Middle Class SES (87%) 1- High Class-SES (13%)
Data Collection Procedures The researchers utilized two types of data collection strategies to provide meaning and understanding to teacher educators’ experiences with inclusion of CRP in PETE curricula structures. The teacher educators (a) responded to a brief self-reported survey about their awareness of multicultural professional development opportunities and their level of social interaction with racially/ethnically diverse groups of people in various settings. They also
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provided a descriptive account of their awareness of ethnically related pedagogical workshops/professional development opportunities in their State and diversity in social interaction in society (see Diagram 2.1). The participants also (b) participated in an in-depth recorded interview. These two primary sources of data in conjunction with the researchers’ interview notes guided the understanding of the meanings teacher educators ascribe to their pedagogical experiences with inclusion of CRP practices in PETE programs. “Listening to Voice” to Understand the Phenomenon Phenomenological investigations allow the researcher to gain an understanding of participant’s voices regarding the meaningfulness of experienced events (Creswell, 1998; Seamon, 2000). Thus, participants’ interviews were used to provide storytelling and narratives as a means to express the voices of oparticipants to provide understanding and meaning to the context of experienced event (Smith & Sparkes, 2002; Sparkes, 1999; Sparkes & Partington, 2003; Delgado, 1989; 1995). This study utilized an in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured, open ended interview strategy with (8) teacher educators across (5) NCATE accredited PETE programs in the Northeast region of the United States. Participants were interviewed regarding their lived experiences and perspectives in regard to applications of CRP in the curriculum and classes in PETE programs. Interviews were audio-recorded after being granted permission by interviewees (Arkley & Knight, 1999). The interviewees were the primary unit of analysis and each interview lasted approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. The researchers recorded each interview on a separate cassette tape for later transcription. Following each interview, the recordings were transcribed verbatim. As a recommended procedure of phenomenological interviewing, the participants were generally asked to describe their experience with the topic being assessed, the questions were very open in nature,
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and the discussion was led mostly by the participant not the researcher (Laverty, 2003). Laverty notes that this process allows the researcher to truly grasp what the participants truly experienced. In accordance with the aim of phenomenological studies, the flow of the interview was controlled mostly by the participants’ descriptions of CRP but each participant answered each question in the interview protocol. To gain further meaning of the participants’ descriptions of the event, the researcher frequently used probes and follow up questions. Patton (2002, p.372) states that probing and follow up questions “deepen the response to a question, increase the richness and depth of responses, and give cues to the interviewee about the level of response that is desired”. Following these suggestions, the researchers developed several questions which were guided by the premises of CRP, to better understand the pedagogical experiences of teacher educators in regard to inclusion of CRP practices in the PETE curriculum. Table 2.2 highlights the structured open ended interview protocol (questions) which guided the researchers’ interpretation of the teacher educators’ experiences with inclusion of culturally responsive pedagogy in NCATE accredited PETE programs. Table 2.2; Interview Questions 1). In what ways do you think that students of color (i.e., African American, Hispanic, etc.) bring similar and different learning styles to Physical Education settings? (If similar, explain how. If different, explain how. If both, explain why?) 2) What are the future challenges confronting teacher educators in preparing pre-service teachers to gain an understanding of teaching students of color? 3) What current curricular approaches do you utilize to achieve culturally responsive pedagogical preparedness for pre-service teachers in your PETE program? Please describe which of these methods you would classify as most effective and/or least effective? Why? 4) What are the ethnic differences in learning styles/behaviors that you prepare your pre-service teachers to encounter in teaching students of color? 5) What kinds of knowledge and skills do you feel are most important for PETE students to acquire to achieve ethnorelative preparedness for teaching in the multi-cultural/ethnic classroom? (Explain Why?) What areas of improvement are needed to increase culturally responsive pedagogical preparedness in your curriculum? 6). What aspects of the teacher education curriculum do you feel that most affect your students knowledge and understanding related to multiculturalism and inclusive classroom contexts?
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Phase Three: Reading and Analysis of the Participants Descriptive Accounts for Themes and Commonalities on the Phenomenon of Interest Data Analysis The analysis of the data occurred in two forms to address both methods of data collection. The first form involved organizing and summarizing the self reported data on the participants’ awareness of ethnorelative pedagogical professional development opportunities and their levels of interaction in various contexts with people of color. This data was summarized and the researchers provided descriptive statistics associated with the teacher educators self reported data in these areas. This information sought to provide better comprehension of the context in which the teacher educators functioned. It also helped researchers understand the participants’’ awareness of ethnically diverse interactions and communications in their home, schools, and communities. Since phenomenology is the study of the human consciousness and lived experience, it is important to note that these teacher educators’ social interactions may act as cognitive schemas which could influence their intentions and cognitions regarding life experiences. In order to understand the data as a whole, the lead researcher evaluated all demographic data to illustrate the participant’s awareness of ethnically related professional development events and their levels of ethnic interaction across various settings. The teacher educators self-reported accounts were broken down to percentages by categories across the data in Table 2.3. The second form of the data analysis involved analyzing the in-depth interviews. Phenomenologists advocate that reference of the term “data analysis” should be revealed or known as explicitation of the data (Groenewald, 2004; Hycner, 1999). Hycner (1999, p. 161) cautions that term analysis is detrimental to the conceptual goals of phenomenology research and states that analysis implies “ ‘breaking into parts’ and therefore often means a loss of the whole
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phenomenon [but ‘explicitation’implies an]…investigation of the constituents of a phenomenon while keeping the context of the whole”. Thus, we will refer to the analysis of data in this study as being a process of explicitation. We will describe the explicitation process we followed in four ‘steps’ or phases. We selected to assess the data using Hycners explicitation process because of its uniqueness as an approach to internalize meaning and understanding of the teacher educators lived pedagogical experiences with CRP. Hycners explication process relies strongly on the comprehension of information by the researchers, who internalize the data as a whole, in an attempt to find meaning units from the accounts of the phenomenon of interest (Groenewald ,2004). Before describing the explicitation process, which the researchers adopted to provide meaning to the teacher educators descriptions of their pedagogical experiences with the inclusion of CRP, it is important to highlight the characteristics’ of the researchers that participated in coding and synthesizing the data. The transcripts were coded by the lead researcher and a graduate student, an African American female experienced in qualitative research and further trained by the lead researcher on coding techniques, specifically for purposes of this study. The lead researcher is an African American male PETE teacher educator, an experienced qualitative researcher and very knowledgeable of CPR and existential phenomenological inquiry. We began the analysis of the data by applying Hycner’s (1999) expliciation approaches, as exhibited in the following 4 steps. The researchers, as described above, followed these prescribed steps in guide our discovery of the PETE teacher educators lived pedagogical experiences relating to CRP practices within the curriculum. Steps in this process of analysis are consistent with existential phenomenology analysis procedures prescribed by Giorgi (1985, 2003). Thus, we have integrated Giorgi’s procedures to accommodate our usage of Hycncer’s explication of data. This explicitation process has five ‘steps’ or phases, which are: 1) bracketing and phenomenological 21
reduction 2) delineating units of meaning 3) clustering of units of meaning to form themes 4) summarizing each interview, validating it and where necessary modifying it and 5) extracting general and unique themes from all the interviews and making a composite summary. Strategies for Establishing Rigor and Trustworthiness The terminology associated with common evaluation criteria which establish ‘rigor’ within the paradigm of the quantitative such validity, reliability, generalizabilty, and objectivity’ do not apply to phenomenological paradigms or qualitative methodologies (Diekhoff 1992; Koch, 1994)(see table 2.3). Qualitative researchers advocate the usage of other concepts to ensure rigor for qualitative research, such as credibility, dependability, and transferability (Koch, 1994; Siegel, 1994). Therefore, the researchers adhered to these procedures and techniques for quality assurance of the research process conducted in this phenonomenological investigation of PETE teacher educators’ pedagogical experiences with inclusion of CRP practices. Credibility In phenomenological research, credibility relies on intersubjective corroboration which asks simply if other interested parties find in their own life experiences, either directly or vicariously, in what the researcher reveals in his or her research (Seamon, 2000). Phenomenologist interpretations are no more and no less than interpretive possibilities . Thus, as discussed in the beginning stages of data analysis, we established phenomenological epoché (‘bracketed’) to account for our dispositions and preconceived notions about the phenomenon being investigated in an effort to facilitate the credibility of our findings in this study (Patton, 2002).
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Dependability Dependability refers to ensuring that data evaluation is formatted such that other researchers could follow the investigative process, and could reach similar findings (Koch, 1994). Marshall and Rossman (1995) suggest using additional researchers who serves as ‘Devil’s advocate’ by critically examining the researcher’s findings. Thus, to comply with dependability in this study, the researchers had several colleagues and/or qualitative specialists with an expertise in multicultural education to review and critically evaluate our findings related to the phenomenon of interest (CRP). These colleagues included two African American male PETE teacher educators, whom both had previous experiences as qualitative researchers and reviewers for educational based peer reviewed journals. Transferability Scholars suggest that qualitative researchers do not attempt to generalize their findings, thus he recommends the usage of the term ‘transferability’ or fittingness, which defines the degree in which a study’s findings can be applied in other contexts, or perhaps with other subjects (Koch, 1994). Therefore, the transferability of this study depends on the potential user of this study, and how they may or may not support the findings as fit to apply in their context. In addition, we followed other strategies to assist the transferability of this study such as 1) providing a rich description of the phenomenon of interest, 2) generating a detailed description of the participants and their lived experiences, so that other can determine to level of transferability to their situations and groups, and 3) utilizing snowballing and purposive sampling, which maximized our chances of obtaining accurate information about the phenomenon of interest, because as we discussed earlier, phenomenological investigations rely on choosing participants whom had the experiences relating to the phenomenon and can discuss experiences related to the phenomenon.
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Finally, we followed suggestions by Polkinghorne (1983, p. 46), regarding four aspects (vividness, accuracy, richness, and elegance) to assist researchers in judging the trustworthiness of phenomenological inquiries. First, we attempted to provide a vivid description of the teacher educators lived experiences, which gives the reader a sense of reality about experience. Second, we attempted to provide an accurate account of the teacher educators’ descriptions, so that readers are able to make connections with the phenomenon from their own perspectives and that they can visualize the situation. Third, we attempted to provide a rich interpretation of the description via participant quoting, so that the reader can enter the interpretation emotionally and intellectually. Finally, we attempted to provide an elegant descriptive overview of participant accounts, so that the reader can make sense of the interpretations cognitively. Thus, we hoped that following Polkinghorne’s recommendations helped to strengthen the transferability of our findings in this phenomenological study. Furthermore, the researchers followed ethical conduct throughout the study as 1) the study was approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board, 2) each participant signed informed consent forms prior to data collection and were debriefed about the research study following the collection of data, 3) each interview was voluntary, and 4) the researchers ascribed pseudonyms to each participant to ensure that their identities would be kept confidential. Limitations of the Inquiry Several limitations of this phenomenological inquiry must be addressed prior to our discussion of teacher educators’ perceived realities and lived experiences relating to CRP inclusion in PETE programs. It is important that we acknowledge that our findings cannot be generalized across all PETE programs. Hammersley, (2000) caution that phenomenologist really cannot separate his/her own intentions and dispositions and they should not repudiate this
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limitation during the interpretation. Our previous teaching experiences and roles as researchers within PETE programs, influenced our identification of meaning units, grouping of clusters of themes, and how we structured and labeled the three main themes and units. Thus, it is important to note that others may generate different meaning and findings from which we concluded (see Patton, 2002, p.113-115, for a discussion on hermeneutics). RESULTS Reported Social Interactions with Racially/Ethnically Diverse Groups As indicated in (Table 2.3), majority (5) of the teacher educators reported that they had rare engagement with racially diverse groups in their previous schooling experiences as students in K-12 and Higher Education settings. More interestingly, (6) of the teacher educators reported that they had rare engagement with racially diverse groups outside of the school environment within their home communities, though 5 reported that they had daily engagement with students of color within the classes that they teach. This indicates that in many instances, many of teacher educators in this study have had rare previous and current socialization with students or groups of color outside of the school context. Table 2.3;Teacher Educators Reported Levels of Racial Interaction in Various Settings Teacher Educators Reported Level of Racial Interaction
Students in Previous Schooling Experiences
Students in Classes Taught
Groups in Home Community
(1) Rare Engagement w/ Racially Diverse Groups
5 (63 %)
3 (37%)
6 (75%)
(2) Daily Engagement w/ Racially Diverse Groups
3 (37%)
5 (63%)
2 (25%)
As revealed in Diagram 2.1, (5) a majority 63% of the teacher educators’ reported that they were unaware of related multicultural pedagogical workshops and/or professional development venues in their State, which they could attend to increase their preparedness in this 25
area. Only 3 teacher educators, (37%) indicated that they were aware of these venues, while two of those reported these to include university related employee diversity workshops/meetings, and the other reported state held educational conventions/conferences. This indicates that majority of the teacher educators were unaware of State or local based workshops and professional development venues which could enhance their ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness. Diagram 2.1; Awareness of State Related Multicultural Pedagogical Workshops/Professional Development
70% 60% 50% 40%
Unaware Aware
30% 20% 10% 0%
Several themes emerged from the teacher educators’ statements, which were categorized in three main clusters and themes to reveal the phenomena of their pedagogical experiences with the inclusion of CRP in PETE curricula practices (see Table 2.4). In the following, we will provide accounts of the teacher educators’ experiences with the inclusion of culturally relevant pedagogical practices. Three primary clusters of themes and several categories which fell under each theme will be discussed. Voices of the teacher educators will be expressed through the presentation of quotes relevant to the specific themes and sub-theme categories.
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Table 2.4 Clusters of Themes Derived from Teacher Educators Statements regarding the descriptions of CRP inclusion in PETE programs. Cluster 1: Beliefs of Student Learning Styles, Approaches, and Behaviors • Ethnocentric beliefs of students learning styles, behaviors • Ethnorelative beliefs of students learning styles, behaviors • Socially Constructed Student Differences Cluster 2: Pedagogical Challenges, Uncertainties, and Disengagements • Neglect of Ethnorelative Pedagogical Approaches (Disengaged) • Pre-service student fear/disengagement of ethnically diverse schools(Uncertain) • Lack of diversity within classes (cultural referents) (Uncertain) • Confronting ESL/Cultural Norm student dispositions (Challenges) Cluster 3: Pedagogical Solutions, Strategies, and Progressions • • • •
Pedagogically Effective Ethnorelative Approaches.) literature b.) community engagement c.) language cues (strategies) d) integrating social/historical aspects e.) increasing dialogue across the curriculum regarding learning styles of students o color Provide More Exposure in Ethnically Diverse Settings (solution) Provide Adequate NCATE Diversity Assessments in the Curriculum(progressions)
The three main clusters of themes related to the teacher educators’ lived pedagogical experiences with the inclusion of CPR were categorized as (1) Ethnorelative Pedagogical Beliefs and Approaches (2) Ethnorelative Pedagogical Challenges, Uncertainties, and Disengagements, and (3) Ethnorelative Pedagogical Solutions, Strategies, and Progressions. We will provide examples of the teacher educators’ accounts and descriptions specific to the themes which emerged through the interviews. Cluster 1: Beliefs of Student Learning Styles, Approaches, and Behaviors Many of the teacher educators’ beliefs were Ethnocentric, in terms of students being similar in learning styles and behaviors exhibited in K-12 physical education settings. In contrast, several of the teacher educators’ beliefs about student learning styles and behaviors were
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Ethnorelative, in that they believed that students of color brought different learning styles and behaviors to K-12 physical education settings. In addition, most of the teacher educators struggled with the inclusion of CRP practices and strategies to improve their pre-service students’ ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness. Presented here are teacher educators’ experiences regarding their personal inclusion of CRP practices within the PETE curriculum and accounts related to their personal beliefs associated with racial/ethnic differences and/or similarities in students learning styles, behaviors, and preferences in the following themed sections. Theme: Ethnocentric Beliefs of Student Differences Six of the teacher educators’ described students of color as having similar learning styles, abilities, and behaviors as their White American peers.In light of the teacher educators’ experiences, they expressed colorblind attitudes regarding their students choosing not to acknowledge or identify ethnic or cultural differences. For example, Jerry explained that he believes students are similar and should all be taught the same way despite their racial/ethnic background by stating that; “Actually, I really don’t see any differences of styles in learning in my classes. I think that whether we’re African American , Asian, Latino, or White, I think that we all have the same potential. I think that potential is like the normal distribution curve, whether you are one or another side of the curve depends on the effort that the students likes to invest, but being everything is equal, I think that we all have the same potential. I supervise a number of students of color, and I don’t see any differences, in my mind they were the same as the other students…and I hope the day comes where a teacher walks into a class and teaches it as a class that everybody is the same, whether you are Asian or Latino cause we are all one society I think there will always be some differences on different levels but as a whole, I hope that we can reach some kind of cohesiveness where you walk into the class and you teach the class. If we can educate the African American or Latino so, with effort, they will perform as well as anybody else whether white American or Asian”. Though Jerry hints that there may be differences on some level, he counters this with a denial of difference and suggest that all students fall somewhere along the normal curve. He then hints at difference and deficits in students of color suggesting that “with effort, they will perform as
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anybody else”. It appears that jerry may recognize difference but choses not to acknowledge it in an effort to espouse an egalitarian attitude. In addition, when asked about her pre-service student differences based on race, Tina stated that they all learned the same and had similar ability as she states “I just teach them as teachers, they’re all teachers to me, so I don’t really look at them racially or ethnically.” Margie further explains this perspective as she indicates that students are similar in their abilities but societal stereotypes exist which perpetuate student differences based on ability. She explains that the race/ethnicity of students played no role in their abilities and/or differences but attributed that any differences in abilities were a result of the quality of the school programs from which students engage in. For example, Margie illustrates a denial of difference when she states: “When we’re talking about ability differences, obviously we’ve all heard those stereotypes that Africans Americans can jump higher and run faster and play basketball better and those whole things, but I’ll be perfectly honest when I was teaching in K-12, I certainly didn’t see that difference, I know that they played a lot but I cant say that their skill was any better or any worst or any of that. When I go out to supervise or work with students, I can’t say that I necessary see that. I can say that schools are better but I kind of attribute that to elementary programs that they’re coming from more than cultural bias”. Theme: Ethnorelative Beliefs Even though, most of the teacher educators echoed similarities in students learning approaches and abilities, several indicated that students of color were different in some capacity. These faculty stated that students of color were different based on their group formations, socioeconomic status (SES), and behavioral preferences. Pamela believed that students of color formed social groups as a result of differences in their SES when compared to their White American peers. For example, Pamela hypothesizes about the reasons for student grouping but subtly acknowledges her lack of cultural knowledge in the following quote: “Well, I think that kids with higher SES levels tend to pull themselves in smaller groups and they learn to behave in another way.I think that hanging out in groups is important to kids of color and I don’t know if that is partly because they want to be protective of each other in some ways or if its because they feel rejected or feel alienation but I think it’s the 29
group hangout thing that they like. Yeah, I think the packs are bigger than the white kids, particularly in the high schools whereas with white kids they tend to split up into smaller groups. Now I know more about white kids and I think the socio-economic is very significant for white kids… it gives them the middle-classness that often goes with money, and has with it all the social rules about behavior. You know not being bad, or hanging with the bad kids and I don’t mean that kids in packs (students of color) are all bad but parents might think that they are and so they might say stay away from those kids…but I’m not so sure that is the same for African American kids”. Tony also described that group formations created among students of color result from a sense of group ownership within the school context. In advocating this position, Tony states; “the students go strictly to groups they think they belong to, if they form those types of clusters in the school, I can tell there are going to be some type of cultural differences in which one group perhaps thinks that they are superior to the other one. I am saying this not only from my observations but from discussions with my practicum students and even cooperating teachers, sometimes its even the teachers that need to address these issues in the classroom. If the culture of the school is like that, for example, there is a area here in New Jersey that I do know that students of color, I mean African American students, for some reason they feel that they fit that sense of empowerment, that sense of ownership, of the school environment-territory. I’ve arrived at saying this in a harsh way maybe. Why am I saying this? Because sometimes they’re the ones that demonstrate that they are in charge of appointment. For example in physical education, in charge of selecting the teams, in charge of who’s going to be with whom and sometimes, specifically in this area I am referring to, you do see for example that Hispanics in this group are the last to be selected. Whereas, I’ve seen several times where it’s the other way around”. Tony reveals that students of color develop this sense of ownership and group formation as a result of socialization patterns in which their parents influenced their ethnic sense of identity and worth in society. Furthermore, other faculty noted that the sense of ownership and group formation established by students of color is oftentimes transferred into the physical education gymnasium as students of color often take a sense of ownership and group authority regarding engagement in certain activities. For example, Tony spoke of instances during activity classes in which students chose teams to play basketball and most of the students of color were selected first and this caused such dissonance in him that he would intervene by assigning the teams himself. Tony, referring to his own basketball class explains: “in these classes it is my experience, I almost had to literally intervene in situations in which students even though they don’t say it they do, demonstrate it, They do behave in 30
such a way that you see that there is some type of preference. For example they selected more African Americans on their teams than mainstream students”. In further explaining why he felt that the students wanted to have control of picking the teams, Tony continues: “It could be, so to break that up I actually suggest and assign teams, and they even complained about that. They complained about why they couldn’t chose their own players for example, maybe they don’t like to have that type of balance in the group because thats what I was actually trying to do? I think that it’s more related to the skill level, even though this is college, it still seems that they prefer to have like their, just to use an expression, an “Dream Team” within the class, they want to have good players so they can dominate what’s going on in the class. I think that’s because the stereotype still exist, since that’s the case, its like following what the stereotype dictates, its like following what society is actually saying about this particular sport and this particular group. Since that’s the case in many areas, they just follow it, but how do they know that they (people of color) are not good at other sports if they’ve never been exposed”. Thus, these teacher educators lived pedagogical experiences led to them beliefs which characterized students’ racial/ethnic differences to be associated with a sense of belongingness depending on a number of factors ranging from SES, stereotypes of natural athletic superiority, to family upbringing. Theme: Socially Constructed Student Differences Some of the teacher educators’ ascribed the students’ differences in learning styles and behaviors to their socio-economic status and community and family structural support and disclaimed the notion of viewing that race/ethnicity as a contributing factor. Therefore, these faculty suggested that we should view any student differences based on these socially constructed factors and minimize viewing ethnicity as the sole factor. For example, Tom stated; “ There are some generalizations, but the more I’m finding out the generalizations aren’t along ethnic lines they’re more around thinking lines, now in a place where we are its 7580 % Caucasian and when you just listen to people you can see the division on who’s in front of you based more on their background more than their skin color. I think when you look at the big picture I think the biggest issues is that, its not so much of race or ethnic background or skin color, its really not that issue. Its more social class and one of the things that I’ve seen is that when you have lower social class or you have a family where there’s less support or a lower socioeconomic class of any group, they bring diversity into the classroom. From that point of view, you spend more time as a teacher trying to address 31
the different learning issues in the classroom and over my career, I’ve been teaching for 29 years, is that I’ve seen more disparity not within the ethnic stuff, that just means that people look different, but when you get past the way they look, most people will divide themselves more so with the style and I think that style more dictated by their social class, which in turn you can almost see the first generation students, the students that have parents to support them, you get all that diversity more than you get that person looks different than another”.
Though race is a social construction, it appears that the faculty viewed that student differences in learning styles and behaviors were strongly correlated with other social constructs such as socio-economic status, and community and family upbringing. In this light, it appears that the faculty believed that student differences should never be based around “skin color” or the fact that someone may speak or look different but that its their social class (SES), and family upbringing that ultimately decides their differences.
From this perspective, we caution that
faculty must understand that even though these social constructs may be important variables which attribute to student differences, it is important to note that there are significant differences among these constructs in terms of race. Therefore, we should question how important it is to debate about how irrelevant or important the term ‘race’ is in explaining student differences. Cluster 2: Pedagogical Challenges, Uncertainties, and Disengagements Theme: Neglect of Ethnorelative Pedagogical Approaches Most of the teacher educators experienced that they personally, as well as their specific PETE programs were not proactive when it came to the inclusion of CRP and NCATE diversity standards in curricula practices. In many instances, the teacher educators’ experiences revealed that they oftentimes excluded structured ethnorelatve pedagogical practices in their preparation of pre-service students. Interestingly, after being asked what they did personally to achieve CRP in their practices, several of the teacher educators echoed statements regarding the fact that they actually never thought about it until the question was asked and made them aware that they were lacking structured pedagogical approaches in that capacity. In this light, the teacher educators felt 32
that they were disengaged from any structured ethnorelative pedagogical practices and that they usually only dealt with diversity issues as specific situations arose in class. For example, when asked if he implemented personal ethnorelative pedagogical strategies Tony acknowledged, “No, I think that I’m failing to implement some specific model. I think that’s something I should look into. When it comes to my classes, its about experiences I have observed, so I share with them if I see a situation emerge in a class I’m observing then I’ll address it, so its as we go, not something that’s structured”. Also, baffled by the question about if she and her PETE department implemented structured ethnorelative pedagogical measures, Mary comments “That’s an excellent question, but we don’t do as much as we could. We just went through the NCATE and we passed it but as far as our curriculum is concerned I don’t see that we do separate or special things”. Furthermore, Margie states that when it came to her specifically discussing CRP strategies in class that “We really don’t talk, we just say here are the different teaching styles, here are scenarios you can use them in and their not specific to ethnic differences… I think the issues not necessarily with pedagogical strategies.” Tina echoed similar perspectives about her implementation of CRP strategies in her practices as she commented, “I don’t. I talk about behavior programs, we talk about class management”. To further highlight the neglect of CRP inclusion exhibited by the teacher educators, Tina revealed an element of surprise that schools even taught about racial/ethnic issues in teacher education. She commented, “People do that, they actually talk about stereotypes. I would hate to say that a professor said because he’s black he’s going to be hyper or whatever” Several of the teacher educators claimed that their pre-service students obtained CRP strategies in the curriculum in the socio-cultural aspects of sport courses, but that their method courses were only designed to discuss teaching. For example, Tina states that CRP related issues, “probably comes up in their socio-aspects of sport more than mine, because mine is about teaching methods, its about teaching in elementary, middle, and high schools, so if we
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come up with an issues, its the issues about teaching within those circumstances or about field experiences that involve those kinds of circumstances”. Tony also claims that his PETE pre-service students obtain most of their CRP related knowledge in socio-cultural aspects of sports courses but indicates that this his PETE program neglects to implement ethnorelative pedagogical measures, which does a disservice to his pre-service students. Tony commented, “I think from the department, the courses that our students take, I think we can talk about psycho-social dimensions of sport, I think that’s a course which touches on stereotypes, cultural differences, racism in sports, and all of those hard topics. That’s a course which facilitates their knowledge. In terms of strategies, in my case, I always tell them to always pay attention to modifications of their lessons, for them to understand that there’s going to be developmental differences and they need to be creative when it comes to accommodating those needs. That’s basically what I understand that we provide and I think we are falling short when it comes to that standard (NCATE Diversity) which is evidenced in our report to NCATE. So I think there’s much room for improvement in terms of this institution when it comes to diversity”. Interestingly, no teacher educator revealed that students obtained this CRP knowledge in a structured and productive manner in his/her PETE methods courses. In this light, the faculty viewed that most of their pre-service students’ learning about culturally related issues occurred in courses outside of PETE specific courses. In fact, only one of the PETE departments involved in this study required their pre-service students to take a multicultural education course in their PETE curriculum. This is further troubling, as some PETE faculty in this study reveals that CRP is not a part of the structure in their PETE programs. It appears that some PETE faculty are not being accountable themselves for structurally communicating culturally relevant knowledge to their preservice students and in some instances rely on them to learn about these issues in other courses outside of their instructional based courses to deliver CRP related content.
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Theme: Lack of Diversity in PETE Classes Several of the teacher educators perceived that they were limited in addressing ethnorelative pedagogical related issues because there was a lack of diversity within their classes. For example, Jerry comments, “We spend some time but not a lot of time addressing this issue, cause I don’t think we have a large (ethnic) population. Not to say that the size of the (ethnic) minorities (in the PETE program) should determine how much time you spend on talking about those issues but I think that’s a factor, because the more minorities you have the more time you will spend on dealing with minorities issues”. From this perspective, the teacher educators perceived that the lack of diversity in their classes is detrimental to their students understanding of ethnic/racial issues. Thus, these teacher educators described their students of color as cultural referents whom they stated to add ‘multicultural intelligence’ to classes by providing different views on diversity related issues. It appears that these PETE faculty members were placing the responsibility of ethnorelative knowledge on their students of color. For example, Margie comments, “It’s no doubt that it could increase their multicultural intelligence. Obviously just to be aware when I say multicultural intelligence, is when we have a diverse population we would hope that when we ask questions or bring up scenarios and things they can reflect on their own programs they went through, what they can actually bring to the table to share because we all know that our backgrounds are different and we can bring different scenarios, examples, and all of those things. We were trying to elicit that stuff from our students the other day and everybody was coming from a similar background so they’re all hearing the same thing over and over again. Yet, if I give an example of this is what happened to me when I taught in Philadelphia, they are like OH!! They just don’t see that would be a reality for them so I think if they have more individuals they’re own age going through the different experiences, then absolutely it would make a difference. I think the same thing obviously when they’re dealing with K-12 populations, the more diverse, the more they learn, the more receptive and tolerant they are of people. You realize that there are differences but the differences are not that big of deal, and just get on with it”. Mary states that, “I would love to get more minorities into teaching, its not just here that needs more recruitment, or in the State of New jersey, but throughout the United States, its got to get
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more minorities into the classroom so that when someone that’s speaking to a black student and is black, they can relate a issue even better than me”. In further explaining the detrimental aspects related to the lack of students of color within the PETE program, Tina laughingly expressed, “I think having enough of them (students of color) in the class! I think it’s a big challenge getting enough ethnically diverse students in the program You know I have a hard time with the racial thing. I wish there were more diverse students in the program, because I think that diversity brings richness to the character of the class and I think that’s because everybody been raised in different cultures, you know I’ve taught in a very diverse school my whole life as a teacher, and we didn’t look at anybody different, because there was so many diverse people, it wasn’t about all white, black, or yellow, it wasn’t. It was always about culture and culture changes that are different in different cultures, which are more accepting than basing it on a skin color”. Tina failed to acknowledge that culture can, an often is based on physical similarities’. Theme: Pre-service Student Fear/Disengagement of Ethnically Diverse Settings Interestingly, majority of the teacher educators described challenges with getting their preservice students over their fears of teaching in racially/ethnically diverse settings and to racially/ethnically diverse students. The teacher educators noted that their pre-service students held stereotypical perceptions about teaching diverse groups in diverse settings, which led them to be fearful and reluctant to teach in settings dominated by students of color. Tina suggested that her pre-service students were “shocked” by assignments in diverse settings, as she describes a situation when a student refused to drive to do a field experience in a urban school. Tina commented “I think that they’re prepared to teach but I think they’re still shocked when they go into the schools. Come on now, depending on where they’re raised they are still shocked,. I had this one student, check this out, I even sat with him in his car, and he was so racist. You know what he told us, that he was afraid to drive his car to Newark because he thought his car was going to get stolen. I went “excuse me, what did you just say, do you know, it could have been ( a white area), and like what if people said don’t go to that (white area) because they might give you some bug of some kind. So that stuff is encultured”.
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Several of the teacher educators indicated that their students made stereotypical statements in class regarding teaching in schools with diverse settings. For example, Tina described that one of her greatest pedagogical challenges is “actually getting our students, and we’ve had several of them who at least make it an issue, to not be afraid to go into a diverse setting. Ok, we’ll say to them here are your placements, you’re going to this inner-city school first, and right away for some of our students it is panic mode. They say I’ve heard that its dangerous, I’ve heard this, I’ve heard that the students were rebellious and that the teachers don’t care, and so they have all these pre-conceived notions about what’s going on out there and again the best way to break those is to get them out there so they can see what’s going on, but there’s definitely a panic mode, like can you change that placement or can I go to ABC places, so finding good placements and then breaking down those perceptions is important. I don’t know if it’s setting the scène better or something for our students so that they are not fearful of going there (inner-city schools) but I think that’s more of a cultural perception on their part that I’m not going to be able to change until they actually get out there, although it is an issue that we need to think about with our students. It might be a fearful experience for them but how do we address it appropriately?” Pamela echoed similar accounts of student ‘fear’ with her pre-service students as she descried a situation when some of her White pre-service students were upset with a African American classmate because she did not want to switch school teaching placements with them. For example, Pamela states “when school practicum placements came up, she (student of color) was placed in an influential white school and the some white students were placed in urban schools and they expected that she should swap placements with them! Practicum’s here are once a week and all students had to serve an urban school and you hear “Oh, I did an urban school last time, why can’t (referring to the student of color) do this location? Yes, yes, and some students call them ghetto schools and they are really negative so I sort of exclude those perspectives…well, first of all, if I hear it, I want to discuss it and say is there another way to describe the school that is a bit more feasible, and talk a bit more about the school to see what it is they’re really trying to say. I say we are not going to use the term “ghetto school” we have to find a better way to describe it”. Other teacher educators described the pre-service students’ disengagement from urban settings as a result of students viewing these settings as unrealistic for career choices because of the disparities in economic resources available in urban schools. Therefore, Mary stated her university implemented an urban teaching initiative, which attempts to engage pre-service
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students into urban settings and provide job placement in an urban setting upon graduation. Mary noted that the program was beneficial in challenging her pre-service student dispositions toward urban schools, and pedagogically preparing them for real world experiences in diverse settings. For example, she says: “Sure, students assume that they’re going to teach in a high economic area, I want to say that race becomes the issue initially but they view themselves as teaching classes of 20 students and coach, work from 8:30-3, and then they’re going go home. That’s why the urban academy is excellent because it wakes up students and says there’s another world, you’re needed here and would you be interested”. When asked if she found that most of her pre-service students of color wanted to go into the urban initiative program, Mary replied, “No, they would like the nice high economic area with 20 students in a class, and coaching. So the question is not the race issue, the question is the economic issue. It’s what they view of themselves since I am now at this level”. When asked if she thought that the demographic backgrounds of students had influences on their willingness to teach in specific areas, Pamela replied “Yes, students who grew up in more eastern schools, (closer to New York) or more diverse areas whether white, black, or Hispanic are all more willing to work in and have more positive things to say about diverse schools. Yes, their prior experience, if they’ve have experience in a multicultural settings as a kid, I think that they are more comfortable with interacting with everyone”. Tom supports the position that demographic upbringing plays an important role in where preservice students aspire to teach. In light of this perspective, Tom states “I think a lot of students are a product of their own environment, where if they’ve been raised with a narrow focus, then they might think that way, and so the education purpose is to help broaden people’s perspective, and that in turn will broaden what they think will want to do in the future”. Theme: Confronting Students English as a Second Language (ESL)/Cultural Belief Challenges Several of the teacher educators commented that they were challenged with finding appropriate methods for preparing their pre-service students to confront ESL and cultural beliefs’ issues during their field experiences and practicum’s. This is evidenced in the literature, which 38
suggests that cultural backgrounds are a part of people ethnic identities and provide a point of reference for an individual’s values and traditions (Brand & Glasson, 2004). Brand & Glasson suggests that oftentimes most teachers often assume their understandings of culture and values but fail to appropriately “cross cultural borders” to understand the new subcultures of their students from culturally diverse backgrounds. Several of the teacher educators revealed that as a result of schools becoming more ethnically/racially diverse, that there was an increased likelihood that their pre-service students would be confronted with teaching K-12 students whose first language or cultural practices and beliefs may be different than theirs. From this perspective, the teacher educators experienced that the increased variety of languages spoken in our K-12 schools was difficult to address as a whole in the PETE curriculum. In explaining how the increase of ESL students in K-12 creates future challenges for PETE teacher educators, Margie asserts, “Absolutely, its huge problem for us…Well, I’ll say because there are so many languages’ out there and we have more ESL students and that was one of the comments our preservice students said, they came back and said oh my, they have Asian speaking individuals and that their students actually tell them in Chinese that they don’t know how to speak English…..So they say how do we deal with those issues where its truly a social issue however there is a language problem there, so if you need a particular language there’s no way you’re going to go learn 15 different languages. So again for me sometimes where, ok, what do you tell them to do other than find out keywords or things in their particular language that may be useful for you to use. So language is a big one for us because around our college everywhere has a Hispanic population, so you have to know some Spanish, in some areas we have a huge Asian population and so is it Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or what are all the different languages that could be involved with that. I think the reality is that we know that multiculturalism is not just African American and Hispanic anymore, in one of our schools here there’s an enormous Polish community and they speak Polish , so for us, even for me its overwhelming to say that we have to address all these things. So for us, we say to our students that you have to know that there’s going to be multiculturalism out there, you have to be willing to say is your school willing to transcribe or translate your test in Spanish or Polish, because the reality is that for some of these things we have to. Do you know some of the cultural facts, do you know some of the history, and that’s you’re (her pre-service students) responsibility to find it out because we don’t have enough time in our classes”. In addition, several of the teacher educators found it pedagogically challenging to educate her pre-service students about the variety of cultural practices, values, and beliefs that 39
ethnically/racially diverse students bring to K-12 physical education settings. For instance, Margie experienced that in some instances her pre-service students were culturally disengaged from their students in K-12 physical education settings. She comments about a situation where one of her pre-service students accidentally touched a student in a manner which violated his cultural practices, values, and beliefs . Margie explains, “Culturally, we had a situation where one of our students touched a kid on the head, or on his soul (cap) which represented his ethnicity, as they were all leaving, and the kid flipped out, and the classroom teacher told the student teacher that they forgot to warn them so there’s all kinds of other issues outside of just race that we need to know about….. they were leaving, and sometimes he would touch them on their shoulder, like “hey buddy see you”. They were elementary kids so they were little and the kid started to cry and said that you’re not supposed to touch my head and then the classroom and cooperating teacher said ‘oh I forgot to tell you’. So it was a cultural thing for them that supposedly the soul that’s on top of their head means to touch it is crushing the soul. Yeah, and another one of our students said about an Asian student that his cooperating teacher reminded him that when you’re talking to the student, if they don’t look at you don’t say look at me, the student wont because it’s a sign of disrespect to look an elder in the eye. So the student teacher said to the student would you look at me, would you look at me, and finally the cooperating teacher said she won’t look at you because she’s not supposed to look at you. According to her cultural practices, that’s a sign of disrespect for a child to look an adult in the eye. So, I don’t think we have enough time to train teachers in all of these areas, and I think sometimes it gets to be so overwhelming that we just don’t address it that much. So we have language cultural things and we have what’s socially acceptable, so again I do think it comes down to us touching on a little bit of the basics but there’s so much that its a course in itself. So, I know at least in my courses I’m not addressing it as much as I should but I don’t have the time to though, to be perfectly honest with all of the other stuff that I need to cover”. Cluster 3: Pedagogical Solutions, Strategies, and Progressions Despite most of the teacher educators lacking inclusion of structured ethnorelative pedagogical methods, most of them indicated that there were several strategies and solutions utilized to facilitate their pre-service students understanding of CRP. They also provided accounts of how PETE programs can make progression toward improving the implementation of CRP within the curriculum. In the following section, we will provide the teacher educators rich descriptions as they relate to each theme in this cluster of information.
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Theme: Pedagogically Effective Ethnorelative Approaches Despite many of the PETE faculty stories of neglecting to include structured culturally relevant pedagogical practices in their PETE programs, a few of the faculty described several approaches which they felt have been and continue to be effective in facilitating their pre-service students ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness. These include a.) integrating traditional teaching models to facilitate ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness b.) reviewing ethnorelative language cues (strategies) with students c) integrating social/historical aspects into our pedagogy and d.) devoting class time for culturally relevant dialogue with students across the curriculum. In this section, we will provide some of the teacher educators’ accounts of their personal approaches utilized to achieve CRP preparedness for their PETE pre-service students. In addition, we will highlight descriptions of the teacher educators suggestions for solutions needed to facilitate the inclusion of CRP in PETE curricular structures. Collectively, the teacher educators utilized traditional teaching models to facilitate their pre-service students understanding as it relates to culturally relevant pedagogical preparedness. For example, Tom implies, “when you’re teaching teachers, the major thing I try to focus on is multiple intelligences. Howard Gardner did a lot of research in this area and he basically said that people learn nine different ways, so again, you don’t blame anyone, it’s just understanding that maybe you learn by social interaction, or someone else might be eclectic, or someone else might be a kinetic learner, or a spatial learner. So what you learn is that, I’m not trying to understand how you are learning, I’m trying to understand how people learn and then consequently since you or I can’t control who walks in our class, we have to teach in a variety of different ways because people learn in a variety of different ways”. Others exhibited similar utilization of traditional pedagogical approaches to facilitate their preservice students’ ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness, for instance, Mary commented “Well, here we emphasize Don Hellison’s model of social responsibility, so we do expose that to them and that children in general may behave or misbehave in your class for a variety of reasons, so how do you get them to assess themselves so that you can know what to do with them. Don Hellison has worked in Chicago in a low economic area and he dealt with the same problem of no family, absenteeism, and children coming to class on empty stomachs and not functioning in class, so how do you get them to want to learn and what can I do then to bring you up higher”. 41
Further illustrating this perspective, Pamela indicates that “We have to allow students to talk about the process and the roles. In some ways, I think that sport education (model) could have potential in secondary schools for helping students work across racial lines, not as management tool but as a way to help students understand each other”. In this light, it appears that the PETE faculty utilizes traditional models of teaching to facilitate CRP, by emphasizing aspects of the traditional models which focus on understanding student learning style differences. Again, here it appears that the faculty marginalize and repudiate the specific relevance of ethnicity in learning styles, as they focus on other explanations to describe student differences outside of ethnicity itself, such as multiple intelligence theories,. In order to deal effectively with ESL student dispositions, several of the teacher educators’ claimed that it is important to provide pre-service students with ethnorelative language cues which could facilitate their communication with ESL students in K-12 physical education settings. Tony provided suggestions through his description of facilitating his pre-service students’ communication with ESL students, as he commented, “I tell them to look for keywords to use in their language to manage in the environment, at the same time when it comes to the activities I tell them to pair them up w/ another student which uses the second language but their English is refined, so one guides the other, that’s another strategy I ask them to look for. In a few occasions, I ask my pre-service students to use their students which speak in a second language to use that student as a guide. One time, I think there was a student from Portugal, who had practiced English and there was some type communication problem with another student from Portugal and at the same time this student from Portuguese that knew English talked to the other student, so simple strategies like that can help them facilitate their (pre-service students) organizational management”. In addition, Pamela used language cues to facilitate pre-service students’ communication with ESL students. Pamela indicates that “Yes, I think that at times if you know a couple Spanish words, a couple of Chinese words, etc., even if its just when the kid passes you the ball, you may respond by saying “Gracias (thank you)”. Yes, language, I mean learning to talk in ways that you make contact with people, so teachers have to learn to speak in different genres. Also, we could encourage student teachers for example if they’re making posters or posting rules to include key cues 42
in different languages or make links across the curriculum. Sometimes, you don’t need to speak in standard to know the contact”. Some of the teacher educators felt that physical education teachers under-utilized school support services to meet ESL student needs. Pam advocated the usage of school support personnel as a strategy to assist with ESL students, as she stated, “Well, I worked in a school where we had an ESL (English secondary support) teacher and he would sometimes come to class with particular students. Yes, physical education teachers should learn to draw on support personnel because within the gym we tend to not utilize outside resources and feel that its something that has to do with academics, when those services really have something to do with what goes on in physical education as well”. Some of the teacher educators suggested that improving their pre-service students’ knowledge about social and historical aspects of various ethnic and racial groups was beneficial to their improving their ethnorelative sensitivity and awareness. Tony felt that improving preservice students’ historical knowledge could better facilitate their understanding of students of color behaviors in physical education settings. For instance, Tony stated, “they should know the historical aspects of ethnic groups that they are going to face in schools. That way they can understand where it is that students are coming from. For example, I’m speaking from my background but if they can’t understand where Puerto Ricans come from, there are many misconceptions about Puerto Ricans for example, and now I understand many of these misconceptions and I know where they are coming from. But students out there don’t necessarily understand the history of Puerto Rico, like it was under the suppression of Spain, and then there was an invasion in the United States, and that currently we’re still a territory of the United States, and we’re not recognized politically. So there’s all the many issues that in many ways actually affect the way that Puerto Ricans behave to a big extent. It’s important to understand this to some extent because it can actually explain the way people behave. You know you may behave that way because maybe culturally and historically this is what happened to your culture”. Others felt that improving pre-service students’ knowledge about various socialization patterns relating to various cultures could facilitate their appreciation and values of non-traditional
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cultural norms, and stimulate their ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness’. To illustrate this perspective, Anne indicated, “The reality is like for my students here in class on the college level, I say ok, we’re going to play Boca bal its from Malaysia. And they say, What? And I say yeah its volleyball with your knees and feet, and they say well, I don’t know, and I say why I don’t know and I said well why won’t you do this in combination with your with your volleyball unit. Why spend fours on volleyball when you can do 2 and 2 and expose something new to the students. And they go, oh yeah that makes sense. So, I think we need to challenge our students; we need to challenge ourselves to learn these new activities’ so again so we can stay fresh and they can stay fresh and again as we invite more cultures in our classes you better be able to address some of their needs”. Several of the teacher educators revealed the importance of devoting class time toward increasing the ethnorelative pedagogical preparedness’ of pre-service students in PETE programs. Jerry described the importance regarding increasing class time spent to accommodate pre-service students’ ethnorelative pedagogical knowledge as he commented, “I don’t know if we need to develop a specific course to deal with diversity but I think if each faculty will devote the time necessary to provide the necessary knowledge. Yeah, just talk about diversity as it relates to the physiology of exercise, or talk about diversity as it relates to biomechanics, and so everybody should do this within his/her course. It is definitively important (culturally responsive pedagogical preparedness) not just important because we live in a society where 50% of the population is different than White, so I think it is important not only for the Asians, African Americans, and Latinos and so on to know but those differences are often important for the White populations to know. So I think the integration of the knowledge on both sides is going to make his world a better place for all of us, so it is important to educate all human beings about the fact that we are a diverse society”. Theme: Provide More Quality Exposure in Ethnically Diverse Settings Most of the PETE teacher educators indicated that exposure to ethnically diverse settings was the most important factor for improving their pre-service students ethnorelatve pedagogical preparedness. The teacher educators perceived that teaching in ethnically diverse areas was challenging and at times intimidating. For instance, Margie indicated, “ Well, there’s one thing that I want to add to that. Although in the college of education, we had a lot of students placed in this (urban) area however, recently there were several issues with shootings in this area. So, even though the students in these areas were 9 weeks into their student teaching experience they pulled everybody out of that area for safety 44
issues. Again, we encourage them to go into these areas. But I think through the classroom curriculum, we address it a little bit by saying these are some of the things that you need to be aware of but through their field experiences we are attempting to get them out in health and physical education at both urban and suburban areas. We do our best and most of them have been through diverse experiences”. Furthermore, Tina indicates that more exposure to diverse settings would help pre-service students to better understand the social context of their students in racially/ethnically diverse K-12 physical education settings. For example, she states “Well, I’ll be honest with you, I feel that students better have good class management skills to work in urban districts, because its not about the amount of kids you have in a class but because the kids are coming in from a socio-economic climate when they might not of had food whereas in an (suburban area) the kids probably had breakfast, and they better understand”. Pamela felt that increasing her pre-service students’ exposure to diverse settings would challenge their pre-conceived notions about students of color and facilitate decreasing their fears regarding teaching students of color. She asserted, “Yeah, I feel that whites are less likely to live in diverse communities than people of color. I think that’s what it is also, I think it’s the size of the pack (that students of color hang in) often that whites students might find threatened, they don’t know how to deal with it and I don’t know that I do, now this is just a speculation Yes, and I think that might be the experience for everyone, in looking for direction or assistance its easier to approach a smaller group of people and break that ice and ask than a bigger group of people but I think that African American students in particular like to hang in big packs than do white students, that’s what non-African Americans might find difficult to get into as teachers. Yes, I think it’s the pack thing that might be intimidating”. As this statement reveals, in some instances, even PETE faculty may appear ‘fearful of students of color’, as Pamela even felt that large groups of African Americans were ‘intimidating’ to her as a White American. This fear of the unknown supports the rationale and importance of submerging pre-service students into diverse settings where they can challenge any of their pre-conceived notions and fears associated with teaching students of color. Increasing cross-cultural teaching experiences within the PETE curriculum are important for pre-service students, which could benefit from engaging with students of color, in an attempt to better understand how these groups 45
interact, behave, are motivated, and best learn. Hopefully, these experiences would also facilitate the trend of intimidated pre-service students in PETE programs, to overcome their ‘fears of the unknown and eliminate any biased stereotypical perceptions held against these groups. Several of the teacher educators even discussed how their previous lack of exposure to diversity was detrimental to their understanding of ethnorelative pedagogical issues. In this light, the faculty indicated that their previous lack of exposure in diverse school settings, previously led to them depending on pre-conceived stereotypical perceptions without truly understanding the situational context of diverse groups of students. For instance, Jerry asserted, “Well, I grew up in a place where everyone was the same color and race but I don’t think that affects the way that I see the world today as I see diversity. I try to treat everybody the same but growing up, underlined there are some things that I probably could have done better or been more sensitive of if I grew up in a society that was more diverse. But the first 30 years of my life, I was in a very isolated type of society but I certainly enjoy where I am now in a more diverse population”. Experienced diverse socialization was viewed as important to Jerry’s understanding of students of color, therefore he recommended that the most effective method to improve CRP preparedness of pre-service students was through actual exposure in diverse settings which will challenge their dispositions and beliefs regarding ethnically/racially diverse students. For example, Jerry also asserted, “Yes, well you get experience teaching different compositions of students so when you do get a job you’ll have the experience, the real life, that’s what it is. Its not all White, or all Latinos, there’s a mix, so we need to be educated how to teach a mix of students, so the university should provide the type of experiences in the real world. If you go to Crenshaw, which is majority of Whites, and then you get a job in Newark, then you might be facing a problem as a first year teacher, cause you don’t have the proper experience but again from an administrative level that you can work it out, but there are plenty of sites that provide the experience. We do use diverse places for placements”. Tony furthers this perspective by indicating, “Maybe to expose them to be more consistent with exposure of the students to diverse populations. We have student teachers that have never been exposed to a diverse population, so we are not consistent with that, so maybe we need to have some type of requirement. Our students have to have an experience in a suburban and urban area”.
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Several of the PETE teacher educators indicated several factors which would facilitate the process of pre-service students obtaining quality exposure in ethnically diverse settings. Margie speaks of the importance of ensuring that pre-service students are conducting field experiences/practicum’s’ in quality school settings and with quality cooperating teachers. For instance, Margie’s comments, “For me, finding enough cooperating teachers and quality programs in diverse settings. We have schools that are willing to work with us in the inner-city that are great and others that say that they’ll work with us and when we send students and its a scary situation, but the reality is that most of the (inner-city) schools are wonderful programs but they’re probably not realistic of what kind of jobs these students are going to walk into. Here in our program is an ideal (PETE) program, with all white kids, so I think finding enough placements whether it be at the sophomore or their junior level. Student teaching is not so terrible, they seem to get it done at that level but before they actually get to that level, are we exposing them enough into programs that are working or show that they are working with more diverse students. That to me is the biggest challenge”. In this light, the teacher educators felt that it was important to avoid schools where there was a negotiated curriculum. Scholars have cautioned that physical educators should not only fall prey to reinforcing skill development in activities of students’ choice. Ennis (1994) found that teachers fell prey to student confrontation and allowed students attitudes & behaviors to serve as the predictor of course content while neglecting a variety of other curricula content (Ennis, 1994;1995). In addition, Ennis (1995) found that teachers experienced behavioral disengagement from urban students which moved them from teaching a curriculum of skills to a curriculum of social order and conduct. Furthermore, Ennis found that these teachers’ curricula structures involved negotiations with students’ preferences in exchange to conform to rules and positive behavioral conduct and participation. Ennis warns that if teachers are not trained to be cognizant of diverse learning styles in their pedagogical approaches, they may be met with student confrontation and led to negotiated curricula in diverse settings as professionals (Ennis, 1994; 1995). This does a disservice to students learning experiences by lacking exposure to a wider range of content in the
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curriculum. In fact, several of the faculty in this study echoed this disservicet and spoke of the importance of challenging the “roll out the ball physical educator”.. Jerry further emphasized the importance of avoiding schools with negotiated curriculums. He states, “Again, with knowledge that’s something that we should overcome, and I think it’s the older faculty who tends to negotiate rather than the younger ones, but again the younger ones have some difficulties because if when you walk in a school and work with someone (cooperating teacher) who has been there 25 years and all they do is roll out the ball, you’ll have some problems. I don’t support it and I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. And I think if we go back to where I started with including knowledge to faculty to be aware, that this is not a way to solve behavioral issues by negotiating the activities in the class and you really jeopardize the students’ chances to learn other activities”. Theme: Increasing Ethnic/Racial Diversity Composition within PETE Programs A few of the teacher educators felt that diversifying the teacher education faculty in PETE programs, would be an effective strategy to facilitate pre-service students’ understanding of diverse perspectives throughout the curriculum. These teacher educators felt that this would be a difficult process due to the lack of qualified candidates of color in physical education teacher education. For instance, Tina felt that attracting faculty of color was difficult but served as beneficial because it attracted students of color into the PETE program. She asserted, “Getting more faculty members from diverse nature,..we have to that’s part of our university policy here in hiring,.. it’s a hard thing, because we just went through a search and there’s a lot of open jobs available and there’s not a lot people that are of diverse backgrounds going into our field and so people snatch them (diverse faculty) up really quickly.” Others felt that diversifying faculty PETE programs would be difficult because there is a current shift of educational preference, whereas a majority of students of color are being steered into entering other fields than teacher education. For example, Mary states, “Well, we just had a search for a member and we really tried to outreach to minority physical educators and one of the things we have found as the problem is a number of them don’t have the doctorate degree. All universities want to open their programs more to
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minorities but they’re not getting it because those who have to be at that level don’t have the credentials right now. But one of the things we’re finding out is that more qualified minorities might not be going into teaching but other professions, because minorities are so marketable many of them are not going into teaching because they view that as not making as much money therefore going into jobs that pay more, like more in the business area, more in corporate settings. I wish that more minorities would enter the profession, there’s no question in my mind”. In support of the perceived educational shift in students of color away from teaching, Jerry also felt that was detrimental to diversifying PETE programs. Jerry comments, “ Well, thinking of that what comes to my head is, before you were talking about a particular group and activity selection, where African Americans tend to play more basketball, so maybe its true that over here too (in teacher education fields), that maybe some racial group may be into one particular field. I would think so maybe. Maybe there’s a tendency from minority faculty to push these students into fields that are going to be more financially rewarding”. Theme: Provide Adequate Diversity Assessments in the Curriculum (progressions) Several of the teacher educators suggested that their PETE programs lacked adequate assessment related to diversity standards and initiatives and felt that developing and implementing effective assessments would facilitate teacher educators’ progressions towards inclusion of CRP within the PETE curriculum. For example, Tony implies, “ I think that we have to start putting together more assessments and read more about diversity, read more about what type of tools we can use to collect data in terms of the outcome in terms of pre service students understanding everything about diversity, you know what is it that we do.Are we diverse in terms of diversity? Do we provide this? We need to document this to provide evidence. I think that’s something that’s key. The amount of professors who support this are irrelevant but if we can share ideals, and we can share this info with other faculty, maybe we can come up with some type of standardized type of system when it comes to the diversity standards”. In addition, Margie states in response to the question regarding what PETE programs need to do improve culturally relevant curricular practices as, “Well, I think obviously looking at the curriculum to see where we’re addressing it and where we’re not, because even when we say we’re addressing it, doesn’t really mean that we are. It may look good on paper but it doesn’t necessarily mean its happening in the classroom. So again assess the actual program itself. Are we truly addressing it or not, and then if not, how can we put it in to make sure that we are. I think that’s the biggest. I don’t know that I’ve ever even thought of it but I guess we can find out the students knowledge 49
prior to coming into the schools program. Even if it’s just basic cultural knowledge, not necessarily knowledge but maybe perceptions of culture and perceptions of teaching in certain areas, maybe that would be a better way to do it, check this at the beginning and at the end, just to see if we influenced them or not”. Characteristics’ of PETE Programs CRP Inclusion In concluding our understanding regarding the phenomenon of PETE teacher educators attitudes and experiences with the inclusion of CRP in curricula practices, it is important that we highlight these experiences as perceived across the (5) PETE Programs (see Tables 2.6 & 2.7). Understanding this information facilitated our understanding of how these PETE programs experience commonalities and/or differences in their pedagogical compliance with NCATE and departmental diversity standards across the curriculum. Table 2.6; Characteristics’ of the PETE Programs CRP Methods of Inclusion PETE Program
(a) Activities named
(b) Which most effective
(c) Why
PETE Program 1
•
Class disscussions
• Diverse field experiences • Integrating curricula knowledge
• Challenges stereotypes,etc. • Ways of communicating knowledge
PETE Program 2
•
Exposure in diverse school settings Class discussions
• Sharing diverse experiences in class discussion • Enforcing diverse exposure
• Ways of communicating knowledge • Most interactive
Class discussions
• Multiple intelligence theories (Howard Gardner’s model )
• Disscusses dimensions of differences
• Enforcing diverse exposure
• Provides hands-on experience w/ students of color • Facilitates understanding of diverse students
• •
PETE Program 3
PETE Program 4
•
Exposure in diverse school settings
• Sport education model/Don Hellinsons model of social responsibility PETE Program 5
•
Providing Language Cues
• Teaching about ESL student dispositions
50
•
Confronts the increase of ESL students in schools
Table 2.7; Matrix of cross-case (PETE Program) analysis linking CPR implementation and outcome factors Branch campus
PETE 1 PETE 2 PETE 3 PETE 4 PETE 5
Awareness NCATE/Departmental Appropriate PETE Composed of Diversity standards CRP Diversity PETE Workshops enforced? techniques Courses Faculty of delivered? used? required? Color? Yes At a minimum, poorly Not No Yes(1) enforced emphasized Yes Only a few, poorly Diverse No No(0) enforced Field Experience Yes/No Only a few, poorly No No No(0) enforced Yes/No Only a few, poorly Diverse No but in No(0) enforced Field process of Experience implementing Yes/No At a minimum, poorly Language No Yes(1) enforced Cues
DISCUSSION This phenomenological investigation examined the extent of CRP inclusion in curricula and pedagogical practices, from the perspectives and experiences of eight (8) teacher educators in NCATE accredited PETE programs. The rich descriptions that the teacher educators provided were a result of their lived pedagogical experiences within their specific PETE programs. Each teacher educator provided somewhat different reactions and viewpoints but our analysis was extended to include the pedagogical experiences across the teacher educators collectively. Hopefully, the teacher educators’ reflections provided an understanding of pedagogical beliefs, practices, and challenges as it relates to the inclusion of CRP practices in PETE programs. Before our discussion of the PETE teacher educators’ pedagogical perspectives and experiences, we need to acknowledge that the findings are only generalizable to this sample, but can serve as an
51
effective reference and stimulus to those interested in examining, assessing, designing, or implementing CRP inclusion in PETE programs. Overall, most of the teacher educators’ chose not to acknowledge that students or color learned and/or behaved any different than their White American peers, and thus saw no need for the specific inclusion of teaching pedagogical practices to accommodate students of color, or inform White pre-service students. In this light, the teacher educators held ethnocentric beliefs about students learning approaches in K-12 physical education settings. Ethnocentric refers to how one views the world from their own perspective, as a collective identity, and assumes their understanding as the only one of value (Carigan, Sanders, & Pourdavood, 2005). Oftentimes, ethnocentric teaching perspectives lead to biases by placing one’s own sociocultural group and its values in a central position (Burden, et al., 2004; Burden, et al., 2005; Banks, 1999; Carigan, et al., 2005). Thus, overall these teacher educators displayed ethnocentric beliefs, by taking a central position that all students think, behave, and learn alike. On the other hand, a few teacher educators acknowledged racial differences according to student’s behavioral patterns, socio-economic status, and selection of preferences in K-12 physical education settings.= In this light, the teacher educators felt that students of color were different in terms of behavior, background, and preferences they brought to the classroom. In fact, previous research has found that racial/ethnic divergence exists in terms of preferences and behaviors towards engagement in particular sports and physical activities (Burden, et al., 2004). Thus, it is important that teachers emphasize and become sensitive to addressing the ethnic identities of their students in K-12 physical education settings. In addition, most of the PETE teacher educators often found it challenging and often indicated that they neglected to implement consistent aspects of CRP practices into their teaching.
52
Several of the teacher educators revealed challenges to implementing CRP practices in their curricula structures because of the lack of presence of faculty and students of color to serve as cultural referents. In this light, they felt that students and faculty of color added to the programs’ “multicultural intelligence” and were needed to make inclusion meaningful by providing diverse experiences and perspectives to pre-service student learning. Research indicates that the number of minority faculty is, and will remain relatively low. Also efforts to recruit and retain minority students into PETE programs have not proven fruitful. Thus, it is suggested that teacher educators should seek opportunities to prepare themselves to teach about experiences and perspectives of diverse groups’ without over-reliance on pre-service students and faculty of color to provide this understanding within the PETE program. PETE teacher educators must remain cautious of neglecting pedagogical inclusion of CRP practices, and new ways to overcome their reluctance and misunderstandings of race/ethnicity within teaching. Efforts must be made to ensure that preservice students’ value and respect differences associated with students diversity, and undertake proactive measures to educate themselves about racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in an effort to communicate and understanding of diversity issues in teaching. This would lead to minimizing what Obidah (2000) classifies as ‘uncomfort zones’ experienced by teacher educators. Obidah classifies ‘uncomfort zones’ as the process of teacher educators’ being concerned about their credibility being challenged as a knowledge provider because of the challenge associated with altering their pre-service students long held perceptions regarding racial/ethnic beliefs is challenging in itself. Perhaps the teacher educators’ ‘uncomfort zones’ regarding the inclusion of CRP led to the lack of ethnorelative pedagogical preparation in their pre-service teachers. This may explain their perceived beliefs and personal experiences with their pre-service students’ ‘fear’ and ‘disengagement’ regarding teaching in racial/ethnically
53
diverse schools. Previously, research has shown that the fear and disengagement of pre-service students can be experienced as phenomena (Obidah & Howard, 2005). In fact, previous state based studies reveal that teachers are systemically moving away from aspiring to teach in schools with high concentrations of low performing and racially/ethnically diverse students, in Texas (Carroll,Reichart, Guarino, & Mejia, 2000), and New York ( Lankford, Loeb,& Wyckoff, 2002). Therefore, it is imperative that PETE teacher educators begin to address inclusion of CRP and discuss their pre-service teachers’ reasons for ‘fear of’ and ‘disengagement from teaching in diverse settings. Also, the PETE teacher educators found it challenging to address pre-service teachers’ preparation of accommodating English as a second language (ESL) and/or (LEP) limited English proficient student dispositions. As a result of schools becoming increasingly diverse, the teacher educators felt that is was important to accommodate pre-service teachers by providing them with language teaching cues to facilitate students whom speak English as a second language. In this light, they felt that this challenge was dynamic in nature, due to the wide array of languages present in American school cultures and the lack of time and resources within the PETE curriculum to appropriately deal with all of the variations of dialogue. In fact, Kindler (2002) suggests that out of the 8 million children in Pre-K-12, 3.7 million are considered ESL students. Several of the teacher educators stated that language differences were overwhelming and teachers lacked the ability and opportunity to provide language cues (i.e,words, phrases) during instruction, whereas no special learning activities structured to facilitate language differences. Research reveals that a lack of appropriate language preparation in teacher education can lead to frustration and negative feelings toward teaching ESL and LEP students (Byrnes & Cortez, 1996; Smith, Teemant, & Pinnegar, 2004). This places ESL & LEP students in a environment in which they
54
have no control over learning (Smith, et al., 2004). These authors also argue that in order to counter language barriers related to teaching and learning, teachers must seek the most effective methods to accommodate (ESL) and (LEP) students’ learning, which includes making use of the available school resources. SUMMARY Despite their pedagogical shortcomings regarding the inclusion of CRP practices, the teacher educators in this study discussed several solutions and strategies that they felt would facilitate the process of CRP inclusion in PETE curricula structures. Several felt that effective strategies for implementing inclusion of CRP involved reading of the multicultural literature to better understand the sociocultural context. Jetton & Davis (2005) advocate the usage of multicultural literature to facilitate pre-service students awareness of issues relevant to how teaching and learning occurs in schools and with ethnically diverse populations. In addition, some of the PETE teacher educators’ felt that another solution to improve culturally relevant preparedness of pre-service teachers would be to increase their exposure to diverse school settings throughout the curriculum. In this light, the teacher educators suggested increasing diverse to field experiences to allow their pre-service students to immerse themselves in diverse cultures, in an effort to challenge their stereotypical perceptions with respect to teaching students of color and to facilitate their understanding of learning patterns and behaviors exhibited by students of color. For instance, Boyle-Baise (2005) indicated that teacher education programs should be committed to increasing and preparing community oriented pre-service teachers, through engagement in service learning and exposure in ethnically diverse settings. Several of the teacher educators described that a solution for better understanding how to
55
best implement CRP practices in PETE curricula would involve appropriate assessment and evaluation of how NCATE diversity standards are being achieved within the curriculum. The teacher educators’ felt they individually, as well as their colleagues struggled with the implementation and enforcement of NCATE standards across the curriculum, and therefore advocated that future efforts be concentrated on authentic assessment of CRP inclusion in the PETE program. In closing, we argue that the findings from this phenomenological investigation suggest that these PETE teacher education programs should seek improve in terms of recruiting faculty and students of color. As revealed in Tables 2.4 & 2.5, it is evident that PETE teacher educators and programs involved in this study were deficient in the inclusion of CRP practices in the curriculum. Thus, it is important that effective means of including CRP be sought by PETE teacher educators’, in an effort to increase pre-service students’ future multicultural pedagogical competence. As reflected by the teacher educators in this study, it is important for PETE administrators and teacher educators to devise initiatives to recruit more ethnically diverse faculty and students within their programs. provide effective assessment related to NCATE and departmental diversity related initiatives, emphasize learning language teaching cues to facilitate their pre- service student’s communication with the growing number ESL and LEP students in our gymnasiums and classrooms. This would do much to facilitate the multicultural intelligence experienced by preservice teachers in these programs. In addition,’ diversity standards should be followed to facilitate the process of CRP inclusion in PETE programs. Findings from this study are consistent with Burden, et. al (2004) proposition ,which warns that teacher educators progress from a state of
56
colorblindness to intercultural sensitivity, to ensure the culturally relevant preparedness of our pre-service teachers in PETE programs.
57
CHAPTER 3: ASESSESSING PETE PRE-SERVICE STUDENTS LEVELS OF ETHNORELATIVE AWARENESS AND PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCE INTRODUCTION The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has attempted to increase student achievement through school accountability. Specifically, this legislation has brought national attention to academic achievement gaps that have persisted for decades between students of color, students of economic disadvantage, and English language learning (ELL) students and their traditional peers in American K-12 Public Schools. Specific to teacher education, governmental and educational agencies have highlighted the disparities in the educational achievement amongst students of color and are concerned with issues in regard to making classrooms more culturally responsive (National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems,2004; National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force, 2004; NCES, 2001). Scholars imply that the rationale for the achievement gaps between ethnic groups are a result of conflict generated from the disconnection between traditional school practices and the cultures and norms of ethnically diverse students and their families (Burden, et. al, 2004; Delpit, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1995a). This follows the ideology related in a substantial body of research which reports that mismatches between students' culture and the school's cultures can contribute to mystification and may negatively impact students' academic achievement. It has been proposed that the cultural mismatch occurs when children whose cultural background as White American, have an inherited educational advantage, when compared to children from other backgrounds. These cultural others are often required to learn through a myriad of cultural practices and beliefs very different from their own ( Delphit, 1995; Foster, Lewis, & Onafowora, 2003; Gutiérrez, Baquedano-López, Lee, 2001; Sowers, 2004).
58
Thus, cultural mismatches experienced by the student may indicate that teachers and school administrators might fail to appropriately make culturally relevant pedagogical and curricula matches to the students’ ethnic culture learning styles and/ or norms. Cultural mismatches between the student and teacher are further perpetuated when pre-service or practicing teachers, most of whom are White Americans espouse and are taught from an ethnocentric perspective in their teacher education programs (Burden, Hodge, O’Bryant, & Harrison, 2004; LeCompte & McCray, 2002; Le Roux, 2001; Montecinos, 2004). Thus, problematic to the teaching force is the creation of a homogenous teaching force with similar assumptions about education and appropriate practices (LeCompte & McCray, 2002; Le Roux, 2001). The overwhelming majority of K – 12 teachers, which are White, middle-class females, often have not received adequate preparation in teacher education programs to teach in racially and ethnically diverse classrooms (Gay, 2000, 2001). These teachers often have limited cross-cultural interaction, knowledge, experience, and preparedness for understanding ethnorelative views or culturally diverse learning styles (Ambrosio, Seguin, & , Hogan, 2001; Articles & McClafferty, 1998; Cross, 2003; Howard, 2000; 2003; LeCompte & McCray, 2002; Milner, Flowers, Moore, & Flowers, 2003; NCES, 2004; Sleeter, 2001; Talbert-Johnson & Tillman, 1999). Further, extant literature reveals that pre-service teachers may enter the profession with presumptions about whom they will teach. Moreover, teacher educators are often limited in providing necessary curricula and pedagogical cross-cultural experiences and cultural knowledge required to stimulate CRP in their students.(LeCompte & McCray, 2002; Montecinos, 2004). In fact, Ambrosio et al. (2001) reported that only 50% of pre-service teachers in their study demonstrated at least minimal skills in creating an effective, meaningful, and culturally relevant lesson plan. 59
Teacher educators share the responsibility to ensure that pre-service teachers are prepared to appropriately, effectively, and meaningfully teach children who are ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse, and to do so in varied settings. Despite an abundance of literature suggesting inadequate teacher preparation, there is limited empirical evidence in PETE literature to explain how pre-service physical education teachers view their preparedness to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of a diversity of students, including students of color. Before culturally relevant teaching can take place, it is important to note that novice teachers do not enter PETE programs as empty buckets waiting to be filled by the influence of teacher educators. Often, novice teachers have strongly preconceived stereotypic beliefs about varied cultural, social, and pedagogical issues in physical education (Burden et al., 2004). Nonetheless, Irvine and Armento (2001) reported that most teachers utilized pedagogical practices that were taught in their teacher education programs, demonstrating that PETE programs can make a difference in pre-service students’ career transition as a professional teacher. Beliefs that are shaped by the students’ life histories and experiences as well as their experiences in PETE programs have significant influence on their future teaching beliefs and behaviors. If those histories or experiences do not include meaningful contact with persons from varied ethnicities, cultures, or languages, these future teachers are at disadvantage when they interact with students who are culturally, ethnically, and/or linguistically different from themselves (Burden et al., 2004). Study’s Purpose Milner et al. (2003) warned that teacher education programs will not improve pre-service teachers’ attitudes and sensitivity towards ethnorelativeness unless teacher educators: (a) authentically reflect, (b) keep pedagogy connected to students, and (c) reflect on practical and
60
pedagogical power structures. Novice teachers may feel unprepared to teach students from culturally, ethnically, and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds different from their own, particularly whenever they graduate or take courses from PETE programs that fail to provide them with exposure to a diversity of students in such schools (Stroot & Whipple, 2003). One purpose of this study was to gain better understanding of pre-service teachers levels of color-blindness, awareness of institutional racism, and racial privilege and it’s relationship to multicultural teaching competence. Theoretical Constructs In an effort to better understand how pre-service students racial attitudes and beliefs influence their ethnorelative pedagogical competence, several theoretical constructs guided this study. These include color-blind racial ideology (Neville, Coleman, Falconer, & Holmes, 2005; Neville, Worthington, & Spanierman, 2001; Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000; Neville, Spainerman, & , In Press) and multicultural teaching competence (Banks, 1999; Diller & Moule, 2005). Previously, the significance between racial attitudes and multicultural competence in educational settings have been highlighted by a variety of educational and psychology scholars (Carter 1995, Sheets & Hollins, 1999; Neville, Worthington, & Spainerman, 2001). These researchers support the notion that the more aware White Americans are of their racial privileges and identities, the more competent they will serve as teachers of diverse groups. For instance, Pohan (1996) studied 492 prospective teachers to assess variables’ which influenced their multicultural awareness and sensitivity. Pohan found a correlation between students personal beliefs and their professional beliefs. For example, Pohan found that students who brought stronger biases and racial stereotypes about teaching students of color were less likely to develop multicultural competence.
61
Connecting Colorblind Racial Attitudes and Beliefs and Teaching Previously, color-blind racial attitudes CoBRA emerged in the psychology literature as a promising theoretical concept of characterized racial attitudes and awareness (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000). Neville et. al (2001) imply that understanding CoBRA are important in assessing ones awareness of racial oppression because it is able to attend to or process cognitive information on racial oppression. Neville revealed that CoBRA consists of four main tenets. These include 1) CoBRA are new forms of racial attitudes that are separate from, but related to racial prejudice 2) CoBRA are cognitive schemnas, which reflect a conceptual framework and corresponding affect 3) CoBRA are complex and reflect multiple racial beliefs and 4) CoBRA are expressed differently between Whites and people of color. Neville, et. al (2001) asserts that for White Americans color-blindness serves to legitimize racism by ignoring other ethnicities to protect group interest and maintain racial privilege. Thus, CoBRA proposes that the dominant U.S racial ideology seeks to deny or minimize the facts that racial/ethnic minorities are victims of systematic racism and creates the attitude that fosters victims as the blame for their disparities in society. For example, this ideology is illustrated by the notion that African Americans and Latinos don’t work hard enough as the reason for their educational and economic own disparities compared to Whites in society (Bobo & Kluegel, 1997). Presently, research related to the understanding of color blind racial ideology has received considerable attention in the psychology literature (Neville, Coleman, Falconer, & Holmes, 2005). Data reveals that a link exists between color-blind racial attitudes (CoBRA) and greater levels of racial prejudice (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, and Browne, 2000, Neville, Coleman, Falconer, & Holmes, 2005). Plant & Devine (1998) found that although people may try to respond to racial
62
stimuli without implanting prejudice, they often are still subject to maintain prejudicial beliefs. In fact, Neville, et al. (2000) found that among a predominantly White American sample, greater color-blind racial beliefs were correlated with a) racial intolerance b) racism against African Americans and c) beliefs that the world was socially just. In addition, Spainerman & Heppner (2004) found that higher beliefs in colorblindness were related to anxiety and fear of ethnic minorities amongst White American college students. Previous literature suggest that some White American pre-service teachers have little cognizance of the stereotypic attitudes and racial discriminatory beliefs they hold about students of color with regard to their learning styles and capabilities (Schultz, Neyhart, &Reck, 1996; Su 1997). These pre-service teachers’ experiential limitations in racially and culturally diverse settings could predispose them to retrieve cognitive stereotypes when interacting with children of color (Milner et al., 2003). Articles and McClafferty (1998) assert that often teacher educators fall prey of making broad generalizations about learners of particular ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. They assessed teachers enrolled in a multicultural education course and revealed that a significant number of them were in the midst of reconfiguring and reconciling certain racial beliefs and theories. Thus, teachers as learners transformed their cognitions and teaching repertories as they refined their practice. Also, these teachers adapted their pedagogical approaches as they learned more about teaching specific ethnic minority populations. Multicultural Teaching Competence (MTC) A secondary purpose of this quantitative assessment is to address a gap in the literature by examining a factor related to multicultural teaching competence via self-report measures of preservice teachers. Unlike in teacher education, “multicultural competence” has been a growing area of interest in the counseling psychology literature. Specifically, researchers have been interested in factors which contribute effectively to develop multicultural competence. One factor which has 63
emerged in the literature pertains to racial awareness/attitudes or White consciousness and its influence on developing multicultural competence. Racial attitudes and identities have been a point of discussion in the multicultural counseling literature for the past 30 years, leading to a variety of theoretical constructs which describe racial attitudes. Multicultural teaching competence (MTC) integrates the multicultural education (Banks, 1999; Larkin & Sleeter, 1995; NCATE, 2002; Sleeter & Grant, 2004; Townsend, 2002) and multicultural counseling competency scholarship (Sue & Sue, 2003). Diller and Moule (2005, pg. 5) define pedagogical cultural competence as "mastering complex awareness’s and sensitivities, various bodies of knowledge, and a set of skills that taken together, underlie effective cross cultural teaching". To assess MTC comprehensively in PETE programs, our examination of pre-service teachers’ multicultural knowledge and skills competencies was warranted. There is a scarcity of PETE research which examines racial attitudes in pre-service teachers to gain a better understanding of their awareness of racial privilege and racism exhibited in society, and its association with multicultural teaching competence. Therefore, specific purposes of this study were, therefore, to investigate (a) if there were any relationships between colorblind racial attitudes/beliefs and multicultural teaching competence (knowledge/skills). and (b) whether there existed any differences in (5) PETE programs with regard to racial awareness and multicultural teaching competence as perceived by their pre-service students. Hopefully, this research study will add insight to the racial attitudes and beliefs exhibited by pre-service teachers in PETE programs in an attempt to understand how these attitudes and beliefs influence their selfreported multicultural teaching competency.
64
METHODOLOGY Description of the Research Procedure A list of NCATE Accredited PETE Programs were located via internet on NCATE’s website directory listing of K-12 physical education teacher education programs. Following this search, the investigator identified & contacted coordinators of 5 NCATE PETE programs in the Northeastern region of the United States and obtained permission to administer the scales to students in their PETE programs. Following approval from the University IRB committee, the lead investigator attended PETE classes at the 5 institutions and administered the CoBRAS and MTCS scales to pre-service students within these programs. To comply with the ethical standards of research, all individuals’ participated in the study on a voluntary basis, were informed of the study and signed consent forms, were debriefed following the research process, and were ensured that their personal identity would remain confidential in the presentation of data results of the study. Participants Participants within this study were pre-service students enrolled in NCATE accredited PETE Programs in the Northeast region of the U.S. The participants for this study consisted of (N=142) male and (N=93) female PETE pre-service students, with four students failing to report their gender. The mean age of the participants was 23.61 years old (SD=4.68) with a range of 1952 years old. The participants represented a variety racial and ethnic backgrounds consisting of White American (n=209), African American (n=9), Hispanic/Latino (n=20), Asian American (n=2), Native American (n=1) and Multiracial (n=3). The participants were also enrolled at varying levels throughout the PETE program, including first year (n=1), second year (n=30), third year (n=55), and fourth year (n=150).
65
Instruments Two self report questionnaires, the Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS) and the Color-Blind Racial Attitude Scale (CoBRAS) was distributed to pre-service teachers. The two scales were chosen because they measured the theoretical constructs of CoBRA and MTC, which are of concern to this investigation. Both the (MTCS) and (CoBRAS) scales use a 6 point likert scale assessment. A demographic questionnaire was also included to collect age, gender, and race and other relevant information (i.e, current level of enrollment in the PETE program). Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS). Previously, Spanierman, Neville, Heppner, Oh, Mobley, Wright, Dillion, & Navarro (In Review) conducted an initial validation study to test the validity and reliability of the MTCS measurement scale, which they developed to measure multicultural teaching competency. Data from Spanierman et al. initial validation study of (N= 506) pre-service/in-service teachers and teacher educators provide initial support for the reliability, validity, and empirical application of the MTCS, to assess multicultural teaching competence. Written permission was obtained to utilize the scale for purposes of this study. Thus, we are the first researchers to apply the MTCS since the researchers’ initial development of the scale. We found the scale to be highly reliable in our study with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.88. The 14-item MTCS captured perceived confidence in 1) knowledge about multicultural teaching theories and practices (6 items) and also 2) self-reported skills in implementing culturally sensitive practices in the teaching context (8 items). The response format for the MTCS is a 6-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). One item on the scale (#8) was reversed scored. Items assess each of the targeted dimensions, including: 1)
66
knowledge (, e.g., “I am knowledgeable about particular teaching strategies that affirm the racial and ethnic identities of all students”), and 2) skills (, e.g., “I often use teaching techniques that attend to the learning styles of diverse students”). Spanierman, et al. defined subscale 1 multicultural teaching knowledge as teachers’ knowledge of (a) culturally responsive pedagogy and instructional strategies related to diverse populations; (b) major sociohistorical and current sociopolitical realities of all students; and (c) cultural dynamics (e.g., ethnic identity, etc.) that may affect between- and within-group differences. Next, Spanierman et al. defined (subscale 2) multicultural teaching skills as teachers’ ability to: (a) actively select, develop, implement, and evaluate strategies that facilitate the academic achievement and personal development of all students; (b) chose and implement culturally sensitive behavioral management strategies and interventions; and (c) be active in ongoing review and evaluation of school policies, procedures, and practices with regard to cultural responsiveness. Thus, to better understand the culturally relevant pedagogical knowledge and skill of pre-service teachers in PETE programs, the researchers utilized the 14-item MTCS scale to gain a deeper comprehension of their competency in these areas. Color-Blind Racial Attitude Scale (CoBRAS). The Color-Blind Racial Attitude Scale (CoBRAS) scale was constructed and initially validated by Nevile, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne (2000) to examine the self-reported degree to which participants’ deny, distort, and minimize aspects of racial awareness or institutional racism. Previously, CoBRAS has been found to be highly reliable with various populations in psychology and education settings. Previous reported CoBRAS reliability coefficients (Cronbach, 1951) Chronbach's alpha ranged from: 0.81 (Neville, et al., In Review), to 0.91 (Neville et al, 2000),
67
and in the present study 0.74, which adheres to Nunnaly’s (1978) .70 criterion standard to establish internal consistency and reliability in psychometric scales. Since its conception, scholars have utilized the CoBRAS to assess racial attitudes in participants ( Neville, et al, 2001;2005, In Press). The CoBRAS consists of 20 items, which are rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). CoBRAS items contain three subscales including: 1) unawareness of racial privilege 2) institutional discrimination and 3) blatant racial issues. Coefficient alphas were calculated for each of the subscale (i.e., cognitive general, cognitive specific, motivational general-mastery, motivational general-arousal, and motivational specific) and ranged from .70 to .84 For purposes of this study, we followed previous scholars (Neville, Coleman, Falconer, & Holmes, 2005) method of assessing COBRAS by examining the total score of the COBRAS. There were 20 items ranging from 1-6, therefore total scores on the MTCS range from 20 to 120, with the higher scores indicating greater denial to the existence of institutional racism. As mentioned earlier, a body of literature speaks of the positive association between colorblind racial ideology and multicultural teaching competence. Thus, the CoBRAS was utilized to further our understanding of pre-service teachers’ racial attitudes and its measure of relationship o their self-reported multicultural pedagogical competence (MTCS) in PETE programs. DATA ANALYSIS (Tables 3.2-3.15) provided descriptive breakdowns among demographic variables such as gender, level in the teacher education program, and levels of social interaction to further understand the characteristics that are related to pre-service students color-blind racial attitudes and beliefs and multicultural teaching competence. The researchers examined seven test hypotheses with correlation analysis being used to test hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 and MANOVA being used to test hypotheses 4, 5, 6, and 7 (see Table 3.1 below). 68
Utilizing these measures to test the hypotheses, allowed the researchers to understand relationships and differences between and among the constructs of racial attitudes/awareness and multicultural teaching competence in PETE programs and their pre-service students (see Tables 3.16-3.2l). The following table illustrates the seven null hypotheses which were tested in this study: Table 3.1; Hypothesis under Analysis
H01:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant relationship between pre-service students’ color-blind racial attitudes and multicultural teaching knowledge.
H02:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant relationship between pre-service students’ color-blind racial attitudes and multicultural teaching skill.
H03:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant relationship between pre-service students’ color-blind racial attitudes and multicultural teaching competence.
H04:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant difference among PETE program pre-service students’ color-blind racial attitudes.
H05:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant difference among PETE programs pre-service students’ multicultural competence.
H06:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant difference among pre-service students’ color-blind racial attitudes and their levels within the teacher education program.
H07:
At the p≤ 0.05 level of confidence, there is no significant difference among pre-service students’ multicultural competence and their levels within the teacher education program. . The researchers conducted three correlations, with all three utilizing the total CoBRAS
and multicultural teaching competence (MTCS) (1.knowledge, 2.skills) scores independently as the variables. Understanding the relationships and associations among these variables allowed the
69
researchers insight into the influence of color-blind racial beliefs of attitudes and its association with multicultural pedagogical competence among pre-service teachers in PETE programs. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), was utilized to analyze differences between PETE programs pre-service students’ racial attitudes and ethnorelative pedagogical competence (knowledge/skills) examined in this study. RESULTS The following tables will provide descriptive statistics for the CoBRAS by 1) gender 2)race 3) PETE program, 4) levels within PETE programs 5) level of field experience/practicum engagement. Table 3.2; Summary statistics for CoBRAS by Gender sex
n
Mean
Variance Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
M
142
69.76761
71.92433 8.480822
0.7116947
69.5
46
46
92
93 67.731186 56.894344 7.542834 0.78215545
68
35
50
85
F
Median Range Min Max
Table 3.3;Summary statistics for CoBRAS by Race race WA
n
Mean
204
68.35784
Variance 65.33437
Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
8.082968 0.56592095
Median Range Min Max 68
43
46
89
Af-A
9
73.77778 37.694443 6.1395802
2.0465267
73
22
63
85
LAT
20
71.9 62.410526 7.9000335
1.7665012
73
28
61
89
12
80
24
68
92
As-Am
2
80
288 16.970562
NA
1
73
NaN
NaN
73
0
73
73
Other
3 69.666664 20.333334 4.5092497
2.6034164
70
9
65
74
NaN
70
Table 3.4; Summary statistics for CoBRAS by PETE Program school
N
Mean
Variance
Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
Median Range Min Max
PETE 1 53 70.679245 52.337444 7.2344623 0.9937298
70
39
50
89
PETE 2 28
67.75
39.52778
6.287112 1.1881526
68
23
55
78
PETE 3 47
66.57447
74.07586
8.606733
1.255421
68
38
46
84
PETE 4 48 70.979164
78.957
8.885776 1.2825512
71
40
52
92
67.89145
8.239627 1.0380954
68
41
48
89
PETE 5 63
68.4127
Table 3.5; Summary statistics for CoBRAS by Level in PETE Program level
N
1st Yr.
1
Mean
Variance 78
NaN
Std. Dev.
Median Range Min Max
NaN
78
0
78
78
2nd Yr.
30 70.066666 33.650574 5.8009114 1.0590967
70
25
57
82
3rd Yr.
55
8.301637 1.1193925
69
44
48
92
8.39106 0.6851272
68
43
46
89
70.56364 68.917175
4th Yr. 150 68.113335
70.40989
NaN
Std. Err.
Table 3.6; Summary statistics for COBRAS by Practicum/Field Experience Engagement interest
n
Mean
Variance
Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
Yes
138 68.195656 63.282608 7.9550366 0.67717767
No
100
69.92 65.751114 8.1087055
Median Range Min Max
0.8108706
68
40
46
86
69.5
44
48
92
The following table (3.7) exhibits the means and standard deviations of the 20 items on the CoBRA scale. Several of the items on the CoBRAS were reversed scored, (see items which are bolded in Table 3.7) The scales items were rated from 1-6.
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Table 3.7; Means & Standard Deviations for CoBRAS Means, and Standard Deviations for the CoBRAS Item
M
SD
1) Everyone who works hard, no matter what race they are, has an equal chance to become rich
4.586
1.390
2) Race plays a major role in the type of social services (such as type of health care or day care) that people receive in the U.S.
3.674
1.418
3) It is important that people begin to think of themselves as American and not African American, Mexican American or Italian American.
4.293
1.552
4) Due to racial discrimination, programs such as affirmative action are necessary to help create equality. 5) Racism is a major problem in the U.S.
3.113
1.341
2.908
1.277
4.799
1.277
6) Race is very important in determining who is successful and who is not. 7) Racism may have been a problem in the past, but it is not an important problem today. 8) Racial and ethnic minorities do not have the same opportunities as White people
2.502
1.299
5.050
1.249
9) White people in the U.S. are discriminated against because of the color their skin.
2.619
1.277
10) Talking about racial issues causes unnecessary tension.
3.197
1.353
11) It is important for political leaders to talk about racism to help work through or solve society’s problems 12) White people in the U.S. have certain advantages because of the color of their skin. 13) Immigrants should try to fit into the culture and adopt the values of the U.S. 14) English should be the only official language in the U.S.
2.573
1.185
3.427
1.438
4.268
1.275
4.138
1.790
15) White people are more to blame for racial discrimination in the U.S. than racial and ethnic minorities.
4.326
1.289
16) Social policies, such as affirmative action, discriminate unfairly Against White people 17) It is important for public schools to teach about the history and contributions of racial and ethnic minorities 18) Racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. have certain advantages because of the color of their skin. 19) Racial problems in the U.S. are rare, isolated situations.
3.234
1.269
1.971
1.086
3.247
1.241
2.351
1.078
4.393
1.445
20) Race plays an important role in who gets sent to prison
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Column Statistics for MTCS The following sections will provide descriptive statistics for the MTCS by 1) gender 2) race 3) PETE program, and 4) (3) levels of social interaction with racially/ethnically diverse populations.. On average, males (51.2) had slightly higher total MTCS means than their female counterparts (50.4). (see Table 3.8) Table 3.8; Summary statistics for MTCS by Gender sex
N
Mean
M
142
51.28169
F
Variance Std. Dev.
Std. Err. Median Range Min Max
158.8279 12.602694 1.0575945
52.5
65
14
79
93 50.473118 158.38242 12.585008 1.3050045
50
65
14
79
Though no statistical inferences can be made, it is interesting to note when describing the data demographics, that collectively, pre-service students of color (N=35/avg. MTCS54.2) appeared to report on average, higher total MTCS scores than their White American (N=204/avg. MTCS-49.7) counterparts.(see table 3.9) Table 3. 9 Summary statistics for MTCS by Race race
N
Mean
WA
204 49.759804
AA
9 63.333332
Variance Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
152.8041 12.361395 0.86547077
Median Range Min Max 51
65
14
79
117.75 10.851267
3.617089
61
29
48
77
54.55 130.36578 11.417784
2.5530941
54
42
28
70
LAT
20
AA
2
47.5
84.5
9.192389
6.5
47.5
13
41
54
NA
1
72
NaN
NaN
NaN
72
0
72
72
Other
3
69
28 5.2915025
3.0550504
71
10
63
73
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Defining the (5) PETE Program Characteristics’ The PETE Programs involved in this study were PETE Program 1(N=53), PETE Program 2 (N=28), PETE Program 3(N=47), PETE Program 4(48), and PETE Program 5(N=63). Describe who students are taught by and how. (see Table 3.10) Table 3.10; PETE Program Diversity Characteristics
school
# of Pre-service students of color respondents
N
PETE Required Diverse Field Experiences
# of PETE Faculty of Color 1African-American
PETE 1
53
17
No
PETE 2
28
9
No(0)
Yes
PETE 3
47
2
No(0)
Yes
PETE 4
48
3
No(0)
No
PETE 5
63
11
1 Hispanic
No
Table 3.11; Summary statistics for MTCS by PETE Program school
N
Mean
Variance
Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
PETE 1 53 55.226414 150.44775 12.265715 1.6848254
Median Range Min Max 56
63
14
77
8.9291 1.6874413
56.5
36
37
73
PETE 3 47 50.234043 139.57446 11.814164 1.7232729
48
51
28
79
PETE 4 48
1.82392
51
57
22
79
46.04762 179.07834 13.382015 1.6859754
48
62
14
76
PETE 2 28 54.892857 79.728836
PETE 5 63
51.25 159.68085 12.636489
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Table 3.12; Summary statistics for MTCS by reported level of social interaction in previous K-12 schooling experiences interact1
n
Rare
92 48.902172 146.46284 12.102183 1.2617399 50.5
Frequent
Mean
142 52.126762
Variance
Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
Med Range
167.1895 12.930178 1.0850765
53
Min
Max
55
18
73
65
14
79
Table 3.13; Summary statistics for MTCS by reported level of social interaction
in college classes interact2
n
Mean
Rare
51
46.45098 178.29254 13.352623
Frequent
Variance
Std. Dev.
Std. Err.
Med Range Min Max
1.8697412
46
59
14
73
183 52.191257 148.19948 12.173721 0.89990735
53
65
14
79
Table 3.14; Summary statistics for MTCS by reported level of social interaction in home community
interact3
Rare
n
Mean
Variance
Std. Dev.
114 48.157894 155.08989 12.453509
Std. Err. Median Range Min Max
1.166378
50
65
14
79
Frequent 119 53.588234 152.15952 12.335296 1.1307747
54
65
14
79
The following (Table 3.15) provides the means and standard deviations for (14) MTCS Items. There were (6) items to assess multicultural teaching knowledge (see items with a asterisk in Table 3.15). In addition, (8) items assessed multicultural teaching skill The items ranged from 1–6, with higher scores indicating higher levels of multicultural teaching competence.
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Table 3. 15; Summary of MTCS Items MTCS Items
M
SD
*1. I have learned to be knowledgeable about particular teaching strategies that affirm the racial and ethnic identities of all students. *2. I have learned to have a clear understanding of culturally respons pedagogy. 3. I have learned to make changes within the general school environment so racial and ethnic minority students will have an equal opportunity for success. *4. I have learned to be knowledgeable about racial and ethnic identity theories. 5. I have learned to plan many activities to celebrate diverse cultural practi in my classroom.
4.410
1.247
4.184
1.306
4.222
1.474
3.536
1.544
3.795
1.516
6. I consult regularly with other teachers or administrators to help me understand multicultural issues related to instruction. *7. I have learned to be knowledgeable about a variety of instructional strategies that are effective with diverse populations.
2.590
1.486
3.820
1.422
8. I rarely examine instructional materials I use I the classroom for racia 4.029 and ethnic bias. *9. I have learned to be knowledgeable of how historical experiences o 3.849 various racial and ethnic minority groups may affect students’ learning.
1.370
10. I have learned to integrate the cultural values and lifestyles of racial and ethnic minority groups into my teaching 11. I have learned to plan school events to increase students’ knowledge about cultural experiences of various racial and ethnic
3.686
1.477
3.360
1.592
3.669
1.659
3.515
1.461
3.523
1.556
grou
*12. I have learned to be knowledgeable about the various community resources within the city that I teach. 13. I have learned to often include examples of the experiences and perspectives of racial and ethnic groups during my classroom lessons. 14. I have learned to integrate curricula topics and events from racial and ethnic minority populations.
Note: (6 items; 1,2,4,7,9,12)= *Multicultural Teaching Knowledge; (8 items; 3,5,6,8,10,11,13,14) = Multicultural Teaching Skill. Item 8 was reverse scored. Individual items and scale scores initially rang from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree); so that higher scores would reflect higher competency.
76
1.465
Hypothesis 1 The data to test null hypothesis 1 was analyzed by utilizing the Pearson r (productmoment) Correlation Coefficient, at the p ≤ 0.05 level of confidence. The purpose of this hypothesis was to determine the relationship exists between (PETE pre-service students’ levels of colorblind racial beliefs, CoBRAS scores) and ( PETE pre-service students’ levels of multicultural teaching(knowledge related) competence, MTCS-Knowledge scores). The researcher compared the mean values of CoBRAS with the mean value of MTCS-K (subscale-Knowledge (6 items) across all the pre-service students in the 5 PETE programs. The resulting Pearson correlation was r-.084, p =.097, 0.05)
1.063 0.367 (>0.05)
DF F P value Sig
*( significant at the 0.05 level)
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Post Hoc Assessments As a follow-up to hypothesis 5, we conducted Scheffes Post Hoc analysis to determine which PETE programs and aspects of multicultural pedagogical competence (MTCS) were significantly different (see Table 3.21). Thus, the Scheffes Post Hoc analysis indicated that PETE Program 2 was significantly different than PETE Program 5 in questions number 2, 7, & 10 of the MTCS. DISCUSSION The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of color-blind racial attitudes and beliefs and its relationship with multicultural teaching competence in pre-service students enrolled in (5) K-12 PETE Programs. In addition, we aspired to gain a deeper understanding of PETE pre-service students’ level of multicultural teaching competence in these programs. Therefore, in this discussion we highlight the results we found by utilizing the CoBRAS and MTCS, which provide us with significant findings of importance to PETE administrators, teacher educators, and pre-service students. In summarizing the descriptive data related to demographic variables in this study, there are several average differences of groups worthy of note. According to the mean scores among the pre-service students’ color-blind racial attitudes, the females exhibited slightly better color-blind racial attitudes than their male counterparts. Furthermore, despite any racial inferences made, we found it interesting to note that pre-service students of color reported on average, higher attitudes toward racial prejudice and inequality than their White American counterparts. We described this information descriptively but choose not to run inferential statistics by race due to dearth of students of color and, White Americans representing over 80% of the subjects in the study.
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In discussion of the differences we found toward multicultural teaching competence (MTCS), we would first like to discuss the fact that students of color displayed higher levels of multicultural teaching competency on average, than their White American counterparts. Though most of the students of color groups exhibited higher levels of color-blind beliefs, they seemed to have on average, higher reported levels of multicultural teaching competence. In addition, each of the groups which reported that they had ‘frequent’ social interaction with diverse populations in the three settings, held higher reported levels of multicultural competence on average than students whom reported ‘rare’ social interaction with diverse populations in the three settings. This finding indicates that those with ‘frequent’ social interactions with diverse groups tend to report higher multicultural teaching competence. Therefore, further research is needed to confirm the influence of previous social interactions with diverse groups as it relates to pre-service students multicultural pedagogical competence. The reported levels of multicultural teaching competence of the females on average were somewhat similar to the males. After conducting a one way MANOVA, we found that there was not a statistically significant difference between color-blind racial beliefs, (CoBRA) scores among pre-service the 5 PETE programs. In addition, we found that there were no statistically significant differences according to their level within the program. Thus, these findings indicate that PETE programs were in some aspect similar in their acquisition of racial information as it dealt with issues of racial equality and justice. Descriptive findings also revealed that the students were similar with respect to their level of teaching field experiences/practicum and their color-blind racial beliefs. Thus, students were somewhat similar in their levels of color-blind racial beliefs, but several differences occurred on average among race and gender and color-blind racial beliefs. Though no significant differences were found among the levels of the pre-service students within the
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program, please note that the means of color-blind racial attitudes exhibited by the students seems to slightly increase from the 1st year to the fourth year student. After assessing a one-way MANOVA between differences in multicultural teaching competence among PETE programs pre-service students, it was concluded that several programs were statistically different. After analysis of Scheffes Test for post hoc analysis, we determined that PETE program 2 pre-service students were significantly better than PETE program 5 on 3 items in the MTCS. Those items include 2) understanding of culturally relevant pedagogy 7) knowledge of instructional strategies that are effective with diverse populations and 10) integrating cultural values and lifestyles of racial and ethnic groups in my teaching. Therefore, qualitative analysis of the groups across each item found that in many instances, a higher percentage of PETE program 2 pre-service responses reflected ’ internalizing information related to achieving competence of multicultural knowledge and skill in their PETE courses than PETE program 5 students did. We concluded that there were no statistically significant differences among pre-services students by their levels in the program. Despite, this finding we found an 18 point increase on average from 1st year students to 4th or more year students. Therefore, though no statistically significant differences were found by level in the program, there seems to be an increase on average from1st year to the 4th year. After conducting Pearson product-moment correlations, we conclude that there is no statistically significant relationship between color-blind racial attitudes MTCS-Knowledge, although there was a slight negative association between MTCS-Skills and lower levels of colorblind racial attitudes. Thus, we concluded that the increased racial awareness of social and racial inequalities may be associated with increased multicultural skill competency.
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Overall, color-blind racial attitudes were not different at the .05 level, but at the .10 level it appears that lower levels of color-blind racial beliefs are slightly associated with increased multicultural teaching competence. It appears that increasing pre-service students’ awareness of social and racial inequalities may be associated with increases in pre-service students’ multicultural teaching competence. IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS The findings from this study reveal the importance of incorporating culturally relevant practices in PETE curricula, in an effort to increase multicultural teaching preparedness of preservice teachers. As the findings suggest, increasing pre-service students’ racial awareness of social and racial inequalities appears to be related to their multicultural teaching competence. Thus, we advocate the implementation of culturally relevant curricula practices which improve students’ racial awareness of issues of social and racial inequality exhibited in K-12 physical education settings. In addition, teacher educators must develop ways to prepare themselves to improve their multicultural knowledge, in an effort to transfer it to PETE pre-service students in their programs. Also, the observed mean differences among race, gender, levels within the PETE program, and levels of social interaction with diverse populations in this study indicate that future research should examine these variables as they relate to color-blind racial beliefs and multicultural teaching competence. Efforts of this nature would assure, as advocated by Burden, et. al (2004) that PETE programs move from a state of ‘color-blindness’ to intercultural sensitivity in their preparation of pre-service teachers.
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CHAPTER 4: A QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF PRE-SERVICE STUDENTS DESCRIPTIONS OF ETHNORELATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PREPAREDNESS IN PETE PROGRAMS INTRODUCTION As schools become more increasingly ethnically diverse, it is important that PETE teacher educators explore their pre-service students learning of culturally relevant teaching competence within the PETE program. For instance, Jenks et al. (2001) comments The histories and narratives of subordinate groups must be a part of the school curriculum if their members are to engage in personally meaningful learning and if equity and excellence are to be properly served. Curriculum must be transformative, and educators as critical multiculturalists must enter into a democratic dialogue with each other to develop programs that promote critical reflection and inclusionary knowledge (p. 94). Multicultural literature has provided models for schools to transform curriculum to include a critical ethnorelative perspective (Banks, 1994; Grant & Sleeter, 1993). Banks models of multicultural curriculum and pedagogy provide four models explicating ethnorelativism’s inclusion into teacher education. Banks identifies these approaches as 1) contributions (emphasizes learning of peoples of color contributions in society), 2) additive (adding multicultural material to curriculum to gain deeper comprehension of diversity issues previously repudiated), 3) transformative ( requires that the internal structure of the curriculum be modified to infuse the fabric of racial, ethnic, and social experiences) , and 4) social action ( provide community based social learning experiences so that students can reflect on issues of social justice and equity) . These approaches underlie the relevance of understanding and valuing the ethnic backgrounds and experiences of people of color. Jenks et al. (2001) indicated that Banks models could assist students by providing an interpretive value system which facilitates “cross-cultural competency and a personal pedagogy committed to equity and excellence for all students” (p. 104).
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Specific to physical education, research literature reveals models which suggest the infusion of social and cultural experiences for pre-service physical educators understanding of learner diversity (Kozub, 1999) . Kozub reveal an infusion-based model which offers insight to learner diversity in teacher education programs. Thus, it is important to examine how PETE pre-service students understand and describe their views of achieving ethnorelative diversity preparation, to create a frame of reference for teacher educators in physical education to better understand how and what influences pre-service students’ learning of multicultural teaching knowledge and skills within the curriculum. Therefore, in this study we attempt to discover methods of learning about multicultural teaching competence in PETE curricula structures, as described by pre-service students’ experiences within these programs. Fostering this knowledge would facilitate teacher educators understanding of culturally relevant teaching strategies according to the perspectives of pre-service students. Selecting Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) as a Vehicle to Understand PETE PreService Students Culturally Relevant Preparedness’ From its development by Phillip Mayring in the beginning of the 1980s, qualitative content analysis has gained continued popularity among social scientist (Kohlbacher, 2005; Titscher, Meyer, Wodak & Vetter, 2000). Qualitative content analysis (QCA) is a qualitative oriented method that depends upon the foundational strengths of content analysis and applies techniques for a systematic analysis of textual material obtained from observations, interviews, or of other documents in a qualitative procedure (Mayring, 2000a; 2000b; 2001; 2002; 2003; Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder, 2005).
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Mayring (2000b, p.5) defines QCA as an “approach of empirical, methodological controlled analysis of texts within their context of communication, following context analytical rules and step by step models, without rash quantification”. QCA is not limited to a specific discipline and has been widely applied in psychology, sociology, and education based studies (Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder, 2005). Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder imply that QCA is structured as a model of communication, which focuses on aspects of the communicator (related to their experiences, thoughts, and feelings), to the interview situation and the message of the material. Furthermore, Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder advocate the usage of QCA as beneficial because 1) it offers a variety of analytical techniques such as the technique of summarization and structurization that is applicable for research on user behavior, 2) offers procedures such as inductive category development which can analyze user-program interactions in a theoretically structured manner and 3) offers procedures and techniques which generate quantification in regards with to occurrences, frequencies, and rankings of specific aspects of user behavior. QCA facilitated this research process by allowing the researchers to examine a large quantity of written text (data) in a manageable fashion. In addition, Mayring (2001) discusses two important roles that researchers which follow when conducting QCA analysis, such as 1) only being part of the research instrument through application of content analytical rules in a mechanical, methodical procedure, where the researcher attempts to be constant, observable, acknowledge intersubjectivity, and conducts inter coder reliability assessments, and 2)being free of interpreter biases relating to the data, following content analytical procedures, and acknowledging a subjective relation to the material. Thus, in order to make meaning of the pre-service students written texts of their culturally relevant
88
pedagogical preparedness, we utilized qualitative content analysis to facilitate our understanding of their ‘written descriptions’ of learning experiences associated with multicultural pedagogical competence. METHODOLOGY Participants The researchers utilized a purposeful sampling strategy (Patton, 2002) to recruit PETE pre-service students enrolled in (5) NCATE accredited PETE Programs throughout the Northeast region of the U.S. The participants for this study consisted of (N=244), male (N=142) and female (N=93) PETE pre-service students, with nine students failing to report their gender. The mean age of the participants was 23.61 years (SD=4.68) ranging from 19-52 years. The participants racial and ethnic backgrounds consisted of White American (n=209), African American (n=9), Hispanic/Latino (n=20), Asian American (n=2), Native American (n=1) ,and Multiracial (n=3). The participants were also enrolled at varying levels throughout the PETE program, including first year (n=1), second year (n=30), third year (n=55), and fourth year (n=150). Also, 58% (n=138) of the participants reported that they had completed practicum’s and/or student teaching whereas 42% (n=100) reported that they had not reached these levels in the PETE curriculum yet, with six failing to report their level. The participants were purposefully selected because the researchers wanted specifically to gain a better comprehension of what, when, and, how PETE pre-service students in NCATE accredited PETE programs are learning about multicultural pedagogical competency. To better understand the social characteristics of the pre-service students across the 5 PETE programs, we presented their reported levels of social interaction with racial/ethnic groups in various contexts. We provided a descriptive overview of the pre-service teachers reported
89
levels of racial interaction in various settings (see table 4.1). Nearly half, 49% of the pre-service students reported that they had rare interaction with ethnically diverse populations whereas 78% of the pre-service teachers reported that they had interaction with these groups during teaching experiences. Table 4.1; Reported Levels of Ethnic Interaction Pre-service Students’ Reported Level of Racial Interaction
Students of color In Previous Schooling Experiences
Students of color in Classes Taught
Groups in Home Community
(1) Rare Engagement w/ Racially Diverse Groups
92 (40 %)
51 (22%)
114 (49%)
(2) Daily Engagement w/ Racially Diverse Groups
142 (60%)
183 (78%)
119 (51%)
Instrument In this study, participants were solicited to provide written text relevant to their multicultural teaching competence. The researchers adopted the questions from items on a previously validated multicultural competency scale (MTCS) (Spanerman, In Review). The MTCS scale consists of 14 items, (6) of which are constructed to understand multicultural teaching knowledge and (8) to understand multicultural teaching skill. Therefore, in an attempt to better understand how these pre-service students described their learning related to these multicultural competencies, the researchers solicited qualitative written responses from the participants to answer 14 questions following their completion of the MTCS quantitative survey. The researchers provided the participants with 14 questions (see Appendix 4.1) and blank sheets of paper to write about their knowledge and skill as it related to multicultural pedagogical
90
competence. In their specific class settings, the pre-service students were given time (20-25 minutes) to write how, when, or if they ever obtained specific multicultural pedagogical knowledge and skill competence. Participants were instructed that there were no right or wrong answers, and to answer each question truthfully and to the best of their ability. We should note that not all the pre-service students chose to participate in the written interviews by choice, therefore we can not make inferences on the non-participants but data was transcribed, analyzed, compared, and will be reported in this section for those whom participated in the study. 240 of 244 (98%) of pre-service students participated in this study and responded to one or more of the 14 questions. Responses to specific questions ranged from 120 of 240 (50%) of the participants (Q1) to 240 (18%) of the participants (Q13) Data Analysis QCA of the textual data involves a step by step procedure which categorizes data through content analytical units (Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder, 2005). QCA are structured by the research questions, which researchers analyze to create categories according to specific theoretical concepts. The researchers examine the data until conformity of the categories in regard to the theory and analytical procedure is ensured (Kohlbacher, 2005; Mayring 2000a; 2000b; Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder, 2005). When performing a qualitative content analysis on a text, the researchers must code and minimize text into meaningful categories on a variety of levels. These levels include 1) the unit of analysis (i.e., word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, or theme), 2) examination of data using one of the qualitative content analysis' methodological approaches (Mayring, 2000a,200b) (i.e., inductive category development) and 3) the presenting the data to make inferences about the content within the texts ( e.g, categories, frequencies, etc.). Mayring implies that qualitative content analysis relies on the foundations of content
91
analysis, which is a systematic method for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding and categorizing of the texts (Stemler, 2001; Berleson, 1952). In the following, we provide discussion of the measures we took during this qualitative content analysis of PETE pre-service students written descriptions of culturally relevant pedagogical preparedness. Unit of Analysis The first step of the analysis process began with the researchers transcribing the written data into text files. The responses were sentence structured; therefore, the researchers examined the data via “sentence units” and counted the pre-service students written descriptions (sentences) for an analysis of patterns relating to their culturally relevant pedagogical preparedness in PETE programs. In total, 952 responses were generated from 14 questions, relating to 2 concepts of culturally relevant pedagogical competence (multicultural knowledge- 465 written descriptions/multicultural skill- 487 written descriptions). To better understand PETE pre-services descriptions of how they obtained multicultural teaching knowledge (k), participants in this study were asked to provide written accounts of how they; •
obtained teaching strategies that affirm the identity of students of color. (k)
•
obtained an understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy. (k)
•
obtained knowledge regarding racial/ethnic identity theories. (k)
•
obtained knowledge regarding instructional strategies that are effective with diverse populations. (k)
•
learned how historical experiences of various racial/ethnic groups may affect students learning. (k)
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•
learned knowledge about the various community resources within the city that they teach. (k) To better understand PETE pre-services descriptions of how they obtained multicultural
teaching skill (s), participants in this study were asked to provide written accounts of how they; •
making changes in the school environment to ensure equal opportunity for racial or ethnic minority students. (s)
•
activities to celebrate diverse cultural practices in the classroom. (s)
•
consulted regularly with other teachers/administrators to help you understand multicultural issues related to teaching. (s)
•
examined the instructional materials they used in the classroom for racial and ethnic bias. (s) integrate the cultural values and lifestyles of racial and ethnic minority groups into my teaching. (s)
•
plan school events to increase students’ knowledge about cultural experiences of various racial and ethnic groups. (s)
•
include examples of the experiences and perspectives of racial and ethnic groups during my classroom lessons. (s)
•
integrate curricula topics and events from racial and ethnic minority populations. (s)
Inductive Category Development-(Summarization). Mayring (2000b) reveals inductive category development-(summarization) as an analysis procedure for (QCA) studies. Ideally, the inductive category procedure is an evaluation of text in relevance to the theoretical background and research questions, whereas
93
aspects of the textual data are relevant for inductive categorization (Mayring 2000b).The text was analyzed and categories were initially generated following a step by step model of inductive category analysis procedures. In (QCA) studies, the analytical technique of summarization is oftentimes applied, which permits researchers to develop inductive categories by reducing and generalizing related text passages (Kohlbacher, 2005; Mayring, 2000b; Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder, 2005). Inductive categories may be reduced to main categories and these categories are revised as well. Finally, the whole material is analyzed for a cumulative inter-coder reliability of the categories. The presence of inductive categories permits quantification text by the researcher, such as occurrences, frequencies, and percentages of categories (Spannagel, Gläser-Zikuda & Schroeder, 2005.) For purposes of this study, the researchers followed the inductive category development approach to guide our understanding of the pre-service students written descriptions of their culturally relevant pedagogical preparedness in PETE Programs. To guide our analysis of the pre-service student’s written descriptions regarding their multicultural pedagogical competence, the researchers followed Mayring’s (2000b) step by step model for inductive category development for data analysis during qualitative content analysis. The following narrative is provided to illustrate measures taken during the analysis of the written text (data). Step by Step Procedures for the Inductive Analysis Within the inductive approach of qualitative content analysis framework, researchers assess text and code it for the frequency of certain words or meanings, thus forming meaningful and informative categories (Mayring, 2000, 2001). Therefore, this involved the researchers engaging in the process of coding to selectively reduce the text’s volume, but not it’s complexity in quest of categorizing the data into meaningful units. Ideally, this process adheres to overall
94
concept in content analysis (Berleson, 1952; GAO, 1996, Stemler, 2001). In assessing the text in this project, the researchers will illustrate their current biases and experiences as it relates to their interpretation of data in this study. As discussed in the following section, the researchers used emergent coding strategies to facilitate the analysis of presence in categories and frequencies related to pre-service students written descriptions regarding culturally relevant preparedness. Emergent Coding To examine the sentence units of data analysis in this study, the researchers used the emergent coding approach. In the emergent coding approach, the researchers establish categories following a preliminary assessment of all the data. We followed the emergent coding techniques ascribed by Stemler (2001) and we have revealed these strategies in the following; •
In the first stage, the lead researcher and a graduate student independently assessed the text and devised a protocol (checklist) for identifying and categorizing the written descriptions. This phase involved the coders discussing any dispositions and or biases related to topics of examination. (Bracketing info). In addition, this phase includes the lead researcher training the assisting coder (a graduate student) to use this protocol.
•
During the second stage of coding, the researchers compared their identified categories and discussed their differences and similarities of agreement for the initial categories. The sentence units of analysis, created concepts, which the researchers counted for comparison. For instance, we counted the number of times a unit such as “class” or “social environment” emerged and we also created sub units to illustrate the emergence of specifics text relating to the units. Next, the researchers categorized and counted the sentence units, and this data was coded for initial inter-coder agreement.
•
During the third phase, the researchers used a consolidated category list to independently code the data. 95
•
The fourth stage involved the researchers assessment of inter-rater reliability related to the coding process. A commonly used test of objectivity in content analysis is the assessment of inter-rater reliability. In this study, we established reliability through inter-rater reliability, which led the researchers to examine their level of agreement with each other for coding of the data, while also checking for consistency related to coding the data in various categories. Potter & Levine -Donnerstein (1999) support the notion that content analysis should display strong inter-rater reliability for their findings, in order to make inferences that are credible.
•
Thus, we ensured reliability by measuring the percent of agreement between two raters involved in this study (the lead researcher and a trained graduate student). This process involved the researchers’ conducting Cohens kappa test, which is a measure of rater agreement between coders following the coding of data. Cohen's Kappa approaches 1 as coding is strongly reliable and moves down towards 0 when there is weak or no agreement other than what would be expected by chance (Cohen ,1960; Haney et al., 1998). (a 80 % agreement was utilized; (0.80) Cohen's kappa;. Across all 14 questions, the researchers’ level of agreement was consistent for each had high inter-rater reliability (see Table 4.2).
•
Once we met the .80 Cohen’s kappa for inter-rater reliability, we assessed the data to make inferences based on categories, which describe the context of the written descriptions. The final stage involved presenting the data in an informative and systematic fashion.
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Quality Assurance Strategies The researchers took several measures to ensure the degree to which the findings of the written descriptions were valid. Reliability and validity are of importance in the (QCA) procedure. Reliability is ensured by indicating the extent which the procedure of analysis is reliable among coders. To assess the inter-coder reliability, the textual data were coded by at least two researchers, checked for inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s kappa statistic), and provided for each question during the presentation of the results. We will discuss these criteria in the next subsections, specifically relating to our compliance with reliability. We confirmed inter-rater reliability in this report by providing Cohen’s kappa values for each of the 14 questions coded by the researchers (see Table 4.2). Furthermore, to ensure reliability and validity of the findings in this study, we adhered to Cohen’s (1960) three assumptions of 1) mutually exclusive 2) mutually exhaustive and 3) coder independence when using content analysis methodology. First, the researchers ensured that the categories we coded were mutually exclusive and exhaustive. Mutually exclusive categories were met as the researchers ensured that all text (written descriptions) were being represented by only one category, whereas mutually exhaustive categories were met when the text represented all units of categories without exception. Finally, the researchers ensured that we operated independently when coding the text and in our assessment of inter-coder agreement (Cohens kappa reliability) (Stemler, 2001) Following these techniques related to content analysis will allow our following discussion of the findings to provide reliable, valid, and meaningful descriptions of categories related to preservice students’ culturally relevant pedagogical preparedness in PETE programs.
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Table 4.2: Reliability Kappa Summaries Weighted Kappa Summaries
Question #
Kappa
Weighted Kappa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
0.863 0.928 0.860 0.843 0.814 0.878 0.678 0.733 0.812 0.773 0.789 0.818 0.862 0.855
0.866 0.948 0.893 0.873 0.859 0.929 0.752 0.829 0.856 0.834 0.877 0.858 0.901 0.890
RESULTS After the initial emergent coding of the data, the researchers identified main categories which emerged within the pre-service students written accounts regarding aspects of multicultural pedagogical preparedness’. Before discussing the results of their accounts, we provide the emergent codes and descriptions for each category (see Chart 4.1). Several sub-themes emerged to indicate specific occurrences/experiences related to each theme. For example, the sub-theme of (field experiences/practicum’s) emerged to indicate preservice students descriptions of which college courses/experiences most affected their learning of multicultural teaching competencies. The researchers illustrate these sub-themes and occurrences in (Chart 4.4)
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Chart 4.1; Data Coding and Descriptions Code
Category
Written Description
(C)
Classes
statements which included descriptions of learning multicultural teaching competence in courses, either taken in their PETE curricula and/ or outside elective courses.
(SE)
Social
statements which included descriptions of learning multicultural
Environment
teaching competence from previous/current social interactions with racially/ethnically diverse populations outside of university related involvement. (friendships, family, etc.)
(U)
Unaware
statements which included descriptions that the individual was
/Not learned
incompetent and/or that learning the specific multicultural teaching competency did not occur in the PETE Program. (stated they were not taught in PETE courses, felt they were unprepared, etc)
(LIT)
Literature
statements which included descriptions of learning multicultural teaching competence from class readings of scholarly books, journals, and other information based texts.
(LAN) Language
statements which included descriptions of learning multicultural teaching competence from communicating and/or studying diverse language structures. (ex: speaking Spanish fluently)
(HOL) Holidays
statements which included descriptions of learning multicultural teaching competence from celebrating holidays and events of various ethnically diverse cultures and origins.
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The following will describe the frequencies of responses related to each category and subcategory for the themes which emerged across the PETE pre-service students written descriptions in each of the 6 questions relating to their competence of multicultural teaching knowledge. The descriptive summaries for each question, illustrate accounts of the pre-service students’ descriptions’ relevant to their competence related to teaching strategies that affirm the identity of students of color, understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy, knowledge regarding racial/ethnic identity theories, knowledge regarding instructional strategies that are effective with diverse populations, understanding how historical experiences of various racial/ethnic groups may affect students learning, and knowledge about the various cultures, and knowledge of community resources within the city that they plan to teach. Multicultural Teaching (Knowledge) Summary Teaching Strategies that Accommodate Identities’ of Students of Color
Majority, 76 of 120 (63%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to obtain teaching strategies that affirmed the identity of students of color in their college classes, 27 0f 120 (23%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and (14%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. 70 of 76 (92%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only (8%) revealed that they learned teaching strategies that affirmed the identity of students of color in
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college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 18 of 27 (69%) of the participants responding indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas 9 of 27 (31%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about this. Unfortunately, 17 of the 120 (14%) of the pre-service students stated that they were either unprepared or not taught in their PETE program, and incompetent in providing teaching strategies that affirm the identity of students of color Understanding of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) A Majority, 57 of 97 (59%) of the pre-service students responding indicated that they learned to obtain an understanding of CRP in their college courses, 22 of 97 (23%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 18 of 97 (18%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 46 of 97 (81%) of the pre-service students responding indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only 11 of 57 (19%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 12 of 22 (55%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas 10 of 22 (45%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about this. Knowledge of Racial/Ethnic Identity Theories A majority, 40 of 79 (58%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to obtain knowledge regarding racial/ethnic identity theories in their college courses, 16 of 79 (20%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 17 of 79
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(22%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. Specifically, 28 of 40 (61 %) of the pre-service students indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas 12 of 40 (39%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 15 of 16 (94%) of the participants indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas only 1 of 16 (6%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about this. Pedagogically Effective Strategies with Diverse Populations More than a third 33 of 67 (49%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned instructional strategies that are effective with students of color in their college courses, 14 of 67 (25.5%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, 3 of 67 (2%) revealed readings in the literature, 4 of 67 (3.5%) revealed their understanding of diverse languages, and 13 of 67 (20%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. 29 of 33 (88%) of the pre-service students indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their knowledge of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only 4 of 33 (12%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 6 of 14 (60%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas 4 of 14 (40%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about this.
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Understanding Historical Experiences of Ethnically and Racial Diverse Groups More than a third 23 of 58 (43%) of the pre-service students indicated that they encountered historical experiences of ethnic/racial groups and its impact on student learning in their college courses, 25 of 58 (43%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 7 of 59 (14%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 6 of 23 (26%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas 17 0f 23 (74%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum, such as history, sociology, etc. Also, 14 of 25 (56%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about, whereas 11 of 25 (44%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about this. These findings seem to indicate that a majority of students (74%) who reported learning about historical experiences of ethnic/racial groups and its impact on student learning in college courses, mostly obtained this information courses outside of the PETE curriculum. This highlights that implementing knowledge relevant to historical experiences of ethnic/racial groups and its impact on student learning should be increased in the context of PETE courses, in an effort to improve pre-service student teaching c competence in this area. Knowledge of Various Community Resources. More than a third, 19 of 50 (38 %) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to obtain knowledge about various community resources in their college courses, another third or more, 18 of 50 (36%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and a fourth, 13 of 50 (26%) revealed that they had not learned and/or
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were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 16 of 19 (84%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas 3 of 19 (16%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum, such as history, sociology, etc. More than three-thirds, 15 of 18 (84%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas 3 of 18 (16%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about this. Interestingly, more than a fourth (26%) of the respondents indicated that they had not learned knowledge about community resources in the areas they planned to teach or previously taught in, therefore indicated the perhaps it would be beneficial if PETE curricula increased experiences that expose pre-service students to a variety of community teaching resources which could facilitate their pedagogical knowledge competence. Multicultural Teaching (Skill) Summary The following will describe the frequencies of responses related to each category and sub-category for the themes which emerged across the PETE pre-service students written descriptions in each of the 8 questions relating to their competence of multicultural teaching skills. In addition, we provided descriptive summaries for each category in each question to illustrate accounts of the pre-service students’ descriptions’ relevant to their competence related to making changes in the school environment to ensure equal opportunity for racial or ethnic minority students, implementing activities to celebrate diverse cultural practices in the classroom, consulting regularly with other teachers/administrators to help you understand multicultural issues related to teaching ,examining the instructional materials they used in the
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classroom for racial and ethnic bias, integrating cultural values and lifestyles of racial and ethnic minority groups into their teaching practices, planning school events to increase students’ knowledge about cultural experiences of various racial and ethnic groups , including examples of the experiences and perspectives of racial and ethnic groups during my classroom lessons and integrating curricula topics and events from racial and ethnic minority populations. Modifications to Ensure Student Equality in Classrooms More than a third, 32 of 88 (37%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to make changes in the school environment to ensure student equality in their college courses, more than a third, 38 of 88 (43%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 18 of 88 (20%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 19 of 32 (60%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas 13 of 32 (40%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum, such as history, sociology, gender equity courses, etc. More than half 20 of 38 (52%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their personal beliefs about students’ of color was their method of understanding how to make changes in the school environment to ensure student equality, a third, 14 of 38 (37%) of the participants indicated that their social interactions with people of color led to their understanding, and 4 of 38 (11%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about how to make changes in the school environment to ensure equality. Interestingly, it appears that majority (43%) of the respondents indicated that they learned to make changes in the school environment to ensure student equality through their
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personal beliefs developed from social interactions with ethnically diverse populations, In other words, the pre-service felt that they developed awareness towards ensuring school equality through their previous social experiences and interactions with diverse groups, which allowed them to develop understanding and sensitivity towards social equality. Planning/ Celebrating Diverse Cultural Practices and Activities in Classrooms. More than a third, 36 of 85 (42%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to plan activities to celebrate diverse cultural practices in classrooms in their college classes, 26 of 85 (31%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, 8 of 85 (9%) revealed they learned from cultural holiday celebrations and 15 of 85 (18%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 32 of 36 (89%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only 4 of 36 (11%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. 8 of 26 (34%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, 18 of 26 (66%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about planning activities to celebrate diverse cultural practices in the classroom. Consulted with Teacher Educators to Understand Multicultural Issues. A little over a quarter, (26%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to consult with their teacher educators and administrators in their college classes, (4%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and majority (70%) revealed that they had not been exposed and/or were not taught about consulting regularly
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with PETE teacher educators’ and administrators to facilitate their understanding multicultural teaching strategies in their PETE program. More specifically, (85%) of the preservice students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only (15%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, all 4 of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was why they learned to consult regularly with teacher educators and administrators to understand multiculturalism in teaching. These findings indicate that a majority (70%) of pre-students responding indicated that they did not and were not informed by PETE teacher educators’ and administrators about consulting or discussing multicultural teaching issues. This finding indicates that perhaps PETE teacher educators and administrators’ could be more pro-active in their approaches to discuss and find effective methods to consult with their pre-service students regarding improving competence of multicultural teaching skills displayed in K-12 physical education settings. Furthermore, future research should address the dialogue engagement between pre-service students and PETE faculty, to better understand effective ways to facilitate consulting and discussing pedagogical issues related to multiculturalism in PETE curricula. Assessing Instructional Materials for Racial and Ethnic Biases A little over a third, 18 of 52 (35%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to examine instructional materials for racial/ethnic biases in their college classes, a little over a third, 18 of 52 (35%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 16 of 52 (30%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 17 of 18 (99%) of the pre-service
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students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only 1 of 18 (1%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Majority,13 of 18 (72%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their personal beliefs developed through their interactions/communications with diverse groups was their method of learning about examining instructional materials for racial/ethnic biases, 4 of 18 (22%) indicated that their social interactions with diverse groups, and only1 of 18 (6%) revealed their previous school experiences taught them about examining instructional materials for racial/ethnic biases. Interestingly, over a fourth (30%) of the respondents indicated that they were not prepared and/or were not taught about examining their instructional materials for ethnic biases in their PETE program. This finding calls for increasing pre-service students preparation for examining their instructional materials (e.g., lesson plans, etc) .in PETE curricula. Integration of Cultural Values/Lifestyles of Students of Color in Pedagogical Practices A majority, 25 of 52 (48%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to integrate cultural values/lifestyles of students of color into teaching practices in their college classes, 19 of 52 (37%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 8 of 52 (15%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 23 of 25 (92%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their skills to integrate cultural values/lifestyles of students of color into teaching practices, whereas only 2 of 25 (8%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 10 of 19 (53%) of the participants indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method
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of learning, 2 of 19 (11 %) indicated that their previous school experiences and 7 of 19 (36%) indicated that their personal beliefs developed from social interactions with diverse groups led to their skill competence for integrating cultural values/lifestyles of students of color into their teaching practices. Implementing School Events to Increase Students’ Knowledge of Various Ethnic Groups 12 of 44 (24%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to plan school events to increase students’ knowledge of various ethnic groups in their college classes, 18 of 44 (37%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 19 of 44 (39%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. 9 of 12, three-fourths (75%) of the pre-service students indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas only 3 of 12 (25%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 8 of 18 (44%) of the participants indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of, 6 of 18 (33%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them, and 4 of 18 (23%) revealed that their personal beliefs developed through daily social interaction and communication with ethnically diverse was how they became competent and prepared for multicultural teaching skill to plan school events to increase their students’ knowledge of various ethnic groups from their personal beliefs. Troubling, a majority (39%) of respondents indicated that they were not prepared and/or were not taught in their PETE curricula about planning school events to increase their students’ knowledge of various ethnic groups. This finding reveals that PETE teacher educators should be aware and sensitive to ensure inclusion of pedagogical strategies and
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assessments of skills related to their pre-service students teaching competence relevant to planning school events which could increase their K-12 students’ knowledge of and about each others cultural backgrounds. Including Experiences/Perspectives of Ethnic and Racial Groups in Classroom Lessons. A majority, 18 of 44 (41%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to include experiences/perspectives of ethnic/racial groups during classroom lessons’ in their college classes, 11 of 44 (25%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 15 of 44 (34%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. Specifically, 13 of 18 (72%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas 5 of 18 (28%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 9 of 11 (82%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas only 2 of 11 (18%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about including perspectives and experiences of racial groups in classroom lessons. Again, over a third, (34%) of the respondents felt that they were not prepared and/or were not taught about including experiences and perspectives of ethnic/racial groups during classroom lessons. This finding indicates that PETE teacher educators should be cognizant and sensitive to ensure that their pre-service students are educated about inclusion of cultural contributions and experiences, such as the social dynamics of ethnic groups behaviors, norms, practices, and other variables related to students of color learning styles.
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Integration of Multicultural Curricula Topics/Events A majority, 28 of 64 (44%) of the pre-service students indicated that they learned to integrate curricula topics/events from ethnic/racial groups in their college classes, 21 of 64 (33%) indicated that they learned from social interactions with diverse groups, and 15 of 64 (23%) revealed that they had not learned and/or were not taught about this in their PETE program. More specifically, 21 of 28 (75%) of the pre-service students which revealed college classes indicated that their PETE methods courses, field experiences, and practicum’s were responsible for their learning of teaching strategies that affirm students of color identity, whereas 7 of 28 (25%) revealed that they learned in college classes outside the PETE curriculum. Also, 12 of 21 (57%) of the participants which revealed social environment, indicated that their daily social interactions with diverse groups was their method of learning about teaching strategies that affirm students of color identities, whereas 9 of 21 (43%) indicated that their previous school experiences taught them about integrating curricula topics/events from various racial ethnic groups in their teaching practices. The majority (44%) of respondents indicated that their multicultural teaching skill competence related to integrating topics and events of ethnically diverse groups into their curricula practices was learned in their college courses. Specifically, (75%) of these respondents indicated that they learned this multicultural teaching skill in their PETE courses, practicum’s, or field experiences. This finding appears to indicate that effective PETE instruction related to diversity of teaching topics and events in classroom may serve as beneficial to pre-service students’ multicultural teaching skill competence.
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SUMMARY Emergent Main Categories Chart 4.3; Summary of Main Categorical Occurrences’ of the Pre-Service Students Written Accounts Category Code
Occurrence of the Category
% of Occurrences in the Construct (K/S)
C SE U LAN
248 125 85 4
*53% 27% 18% 1%
LIT C
3 183
1% *38%
SE U HOL
151 143 10
31% 29% 2%
MTCS Construct
Knowledge
Skill
Across all knowledge related items, 248 of the 465 (53%) of the PETE pre-service students written descriptions indicated that their multicultural teaching knowledge competence came as a result of their college classes, 125 of the 465 (27%) of the PETE pre-service students written descriptions indicated social environment, and 4 of 465 (1%) indicated second language understanding and literature as their source of understanding about knowledge relevant to their multicultural pedagogical competence. On the other hand, 85 of 465 (18%) of the PETE preservice students written descriptions revealed that they were unaware or were not taught about specific knowledge related to multicultural pedagogical competence. (see Table 4.3). Overall, these findings appear to suggest that that inclusion of multicultural teaching knowledge in PETE courses and field experiences serve as most beneficial in pre-service students descriptions related to their competence of specific knowledge related to multicultural teaching issues. This is
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evidenced as more than half, 248 of the 465 (53%) of the PETE pre-service student written descriptions revealed that their knowledge of multicultural teaching resulted from their college courses, specifically their PETE courses and experiences, as 124 of the 248 (34%). Main Skill-Based Multicultural Teaching (Categories Summary) Overall, 183 of 487 (38%) of the PETE pre-service students written descriptions indicated that their multicultural teaching skill competence came as a result of their college classes, 151 of 487 (31%) indicated their social environment, and 10 of 487 (2%) indicated the celebration of cultural holidays and events as their source of understanding about skills relevant to their multicultural pedagogical competence. On the other hand, more than a fourth, 143 of 487 (29%) of the PETE pre-service students’ written descriptions revealed that they were unaware or were not taught in their PETE program about specific skills related to multicultural pedagogical competence. (see Table 4.3). Overall, these findings reveal that the PETE pre-service students in this study described their PETE courses and experiences, personal social interactions with ethnically diverse groups and engagement in ethnically diverse environments, and celebration of cultural events and holidays as methods for achieving their competence related to specific multicultural teaching skills. Troubling, was that more than a fourth of the responses related to pre-service students being unprepared and /or not taught in their PETE programs to be competence of specific multicultural teaching skills. This finding reveals that PETE teacher educators should be cognizant that inclusion and assessment of multicultural teaching skills in their curricula practices may improve their pre-service students’ pedagogical competence. Emergent Sub-Categories To better understand how students describe specific classes and social environmental
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factors which facilitated their knowledge and skill, in the following chart 4.) provides an overall descriptive summary of the sub-categories which emerged within the main categories.
Table 4.4; Summary of Sub-Category Occurrences’ of the Pre-Service Students Written Accounts Category Code
Occurrence of Category
Classes PETE Method Courses Field Experience
% of Occurrences in the Sub-Category
124
*50%
41
17%
Practicum Other Courses
33 53
7% 26%
Social Environment Previous schooling
40
32%
Social Interactions
85
*68%
MTCS Construct (K/S)
Knowledge
* (denotes most occurrences in a sub category) Classes PETE Method Courses Field Experience Practicum Other Courses Social Environment Previous schooling Social Interactions Personal Beliefs
89
*49%
28 27 39
15% 15% 21%
38 69 44
25% *46% 29%
Skill
Knowledge Sub-Categories Overall, 124 of 248 (50%) of the PETE pre-service students written descriptions regarding college courses described the sub-category of PETE methods/curricular classes, 41 of 248 (17%) revealed the subcategory of their PETE courses which involved field experiences, 33 of 248 (7%) indicated the sub-category of their PETE practicum’s, and 58 of 248 (26%) revealed classes
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outside the PETE program as sources of their understanding about knowledge relevant to their multicultural teaching competence. In addition, 85 of 125 (68%) of the PETE pre-service students written descriptions regarding social environment described the sub-category of social interactions with diverse groups and 40 of the 125 (32%) revealed that their previous schooling experiences with diverse groups prior to college led to their understanding of knowledge relating to multicultural teaching competence.(see table 4.4) Skill Sub-Categories Overall, 89 of 183 (49%) of the PETE pre-service students written descriptions regarding college courses described the sub-category of PETE methods/curricular classes, 28 of 183 (15%) of the written descriptions revealed the subcategory of their PETE field experiences, 27 of 183 (15%) indicated the sub-category of their PETE practicum’s, and 39 of the 183 (21%) revealed classes outside the PETE program as sources of their understanding about knowledge relevant to their multicultural teaching competence. In addition, 38 of 151 (25%) of the PETE pre-service students described the sub-category of social interactions with diverse groups and 69 of 151 (46%) revealed that their previous schooling experiences with diverse groups prior to college led to their understanding of knowledge relating to multicultural teaching competence. Also, 44 of 151 (29%) of the written descriptions indicated that previous interactions with people of color led them to develop personal beliefs, awareness ,and sensitivity of these groups and therefore facilitated their understanding and teaching skills needed to be competent in accommodating ethnically diverse students. (see Table 4.4)
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DISCUSSION As revealed through the emerging categories from the pre-service students written descriptions of their learning of aspects of multicultural teaching skills and knowledge, it appears that their college classes and social environments are key factors in their acquisition of multicultural knowledge and skill. For the most part, these students described their college classes as the most beneficial to their learning of multicultural teaching knowledge and skill. In addition, those that responded described their PETE curricula/methods courses as the source of multicultural knowledge and skill in their college courses. Of concern, is the fact that at least onefourth, 13 of 50 (26%) of the pre-service students stated that they were unaware and/or did not have knowledge relating to the various community resources in their teaching area in the PETE curricula. This finding illustrates the importance of immersing pre-service students in diverse school settings to gain experiences relating to various resources to meet this need. An additional concern is the 18 of 97 (18%) of the students stating that they were unaware of and did not gain an understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy in the PETE curriculum. Also, another 17 of 79 (22%) of students stated that they were unaware of or did not learn about racial and ethnic identity theories in their PETE curriculum. These findings indicate that one way to improve pre-service students understanding of multicultural teaching knowledge, is to foster effective utilization of community resources, understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy, and make available information regarding ethnic and racial identity developmental theories. The pre-service students also described their PETE methods courses as important in learning about multicultural teaching skills as well. Also, they strongly refer to their personal social environments/interactions as factor’s which influenced their learning of multicultural teaching skills. Of concern is that 18 of 88 (20%) of the students stated that they were unaware
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and or did not learn about how to make changes within the school environment to ensure that students of color would have equal opportunity for success. Additionally, 15 of 85 (18%) were unaware of planning celebrations for cultural practices in the classroom, and most interestingly 37 of 53 (70%) of the pre-service students described that they were unaware and did no learn how to consult with teachers and administrators to facilitate their understanding of multicultural teaching issue. These findings cause concern related to improving pre-service teachers multicultural skill related competence. Also, 16 of 52 (30%) of the pre-service students revealed that they were unaware of how to examine instructional materials that are used in the classrooms for ethnic and racial bias. This also causes concern that teacher education programs need to introduce and work toward implementing self-reflective teaching experiences in diverse settings. Also, of multicultural teaching skill concern was that 19 of 49 (39%) described that they were unaware as to how to plan school events to increase their students knowledge about cultural experiences of various racial groups, 15 of 44 (34%) were unaware of or did not learn in the PETE curriculum about including examples of racial and ethnic groups during their teaching applications, and 15 of 64 (23%) failed to learn in the PETE curricula ways to integrate topics from racial and ethnic minorities in their teaching. These findings as they relate to multicultural teaching skill should be of concern to teacher educators, in an effort to begin and continue finding innovative ways to educate our pre-service students about the dynamics of cultures that are exhibited in classrooms. IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS Findings in this study indicate that college courses and practical experiences (ie, PETE methods, field experiences, practicums) and social environments (interactions/schooling experiences) play a major role in students’ identification of learning multicultural skills and
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knowledge. Though they describe these factors as important there was a concern in regard to some aspects related to their multicultural skill and knowledge. As we learned in this study, at least (70%) of the respondents that answered how and when they consulted with faculty regarding aspects of multiculturalism and teaching indicated that they were unaware and did not learn how to consult with school officials or teachers regarding multicultural issues. Thus, we must demonstrate our openness to discussion as teachers and teacher educators regarding multicultural teaching issues. Though we should be sensitive to the focus of pre-service teachers with regard to open discussions’ of race and ethnicity, we must find innovative and stimulating ways to generate trust in our students, so that we can discuss the issues openly, yet respectfully. Hopefully, dialogue of this nature would help to clarify some of the pedagogical uncertainties with respect to cultural practices and beliefs, exhibited through the pre-service teachers written descriptions within this qualitative content analysis.
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CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY The studies reveal that these teacher education programs seem to be failing to adequately prepare pre-service students to teach effectively students of color in culturally diverse settings. The results of these studies collectively indicate a need for teacher educators and pre-service teachers to develop an awareness of the need to include ethnorelative pedagogical practices in the classroom. In physical education professional teacher development, it has been suggested that future studies address the accommodation of diverse learners to meet the needs of all learners and their various learning styles (Burden et al, 2004; Kozub, Sherblom, & Perry, 1999). Kozub et al. assert that meeting the needs of diverse learners in physical education should be accomplished through minority models and infusion-based curricula. Therefore, in order to implement effective strategies associated with culturally relevant teacher preparation is important to gain an understanding of what teacher educators in PETE programs are doing to address these needs and how their pre-service teachers perceive this information. Problematic to teacher educators in physical education, is the scarcity of literature that reveals effective models of ethnorelative diversity training specific to PETE programs (Burden, et al, 2004; Hodge, 2003). Therefore, research is needed to better explain how PETE teacher educators and pre-service teachers value and conceptualize culturally relevant pedagogical practices.Further research is needed to provide effective ethnorelative models for training pre-service teachers to meet the needs of different ethnic learning styles in physical education (Burden et al, 2004). Furnishing this information could transform PETE curricula to better prepare preservice teachers to meet the needs of students of color in American schools. Teacher educators must be cognizant that this transformation is not an easy endeavor. Research
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literature reports that pre-service teachers have perceived barriers to the implementation of a multicultural curriculum. Van Hook (2002) reported these barriers as 1) difficulty discussing sensitive topics 2) institutional policies and practices detrimental to diversity 3) difficulty developing teaching strategies for a diverse curriculum and 4) inability of society, teachers, and parents to recognize and accept diversity. These perceived barriers have important implications for teacher educators in physical education. These implications include 1) improving our understanding of the phenomena related to PETE teacher educators perspectives and experiences regarding implementation of a culturally relevant curriculum, and 2) improving our awareness of factors which influence PETE pre-service students’ multicultural teaching competence and 3) increasing our comprehension of PETE preservice students’ perspectives related to their multicultural teaching knowledge and skill competence. Therefore, this research study was extended to address our understanding of issues which provide strategies to improve ethnorelative teaching preparation in pre-service teacher education curricula. This study consisted of three parts, which sought to provide us with teacher educators’ and pre-service students’ experienced barriers and strategies for teaching and learning of culturally relevant pedagogical practices. The first study was undertaken to better understand teacher educators’ pedagogical experiences with the inclusion of culturally relevant pedagogical practices within the PETE curriculum. The second study consists of assessing pre-service students’ racial awareness (color-blind racial attitudes) and their associated levels of perceived multicultural teaching competence. The third part involved analysis of pre-service students written descriptions regarding their learning and competence as it related to various dimensions of multicultural teaching knowledge and skill. The
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following section will cohesively summarize the results of the three studies and illustrate how the findings in each were connected across the studies. Diagram 5.1 illustrates the three studies and their associated findings and connections in each. Study 1, 2, and 3 findings were connected through several strands to be discussed. To begin, study 1 was connected with study 3 in several ways. The first connection is illustrated as Study 1 found that the PETE teacher educators’ indicated a lack of specific pedagogical inclusion related to culturally relevant preparation of their pre-service students and Study 3 indicated that their pre-service students subsequently lacked the ability to increase their students knowledge related to various ethnic/racial groups. In this light, it appears that teacher educators neglecting of specific CRP inclusion in the curriculum, led to their pre-service students unawareness and lack of understanding of these issues with their own students n K-12 settings. Connection 2 was revealed as Study 1 revealed that teacher educators’ often failed to discuss historical content related to people of color. As discussed on pg.50 in study 1, PETE faculty member Tony felt that his students lacked a historical understanding of Puerto Rico, which he thought would help their understanding of Hispanic students culture, values, and behaviors. This may have resulted in their pre-service students’ inability to include experiences related to different ethnic/racial groups in their classroom teaching practices in Study 3. Connection 3 stems from Study 1, as the teacher educators experienced that they rarely discussed racial issues in their classes and often perceived it as a difficult topic to address with their pre-service students. In study 3, pre-service students described that they rarely consulted their teacher educators or administrators regarding multicultural issues in their teaching. In this light, both parties seem to be avoiding the important racial discussion 121
that would facilitate their understanding of ethnorelative teaching practices. Therefore, as a result of teacher educators neglecting these conversations in their classes, the pre-service students may view this type of dialogue and communication as unimportant or unimportant. Connection 4 stemmed from Study 1, as teacher educators indicated that their preservice students avoided and often feared placements in ethnically diverse settings. This finding is more than likely connected to the sizable number of pre-service students reporting that they lacked understanding of ethnically diverse community resources. It appears that the reluctance and rejection of pre-service teachers’ placements in ethnically diverse schools is correlated to their lack of understanding regarding resources in these schools. One has to ask the question that if the pre-service students are seeking to disengage from teaching at urban schools, how much of an effort they will make to seek resources in those areas. In this light, it is important to understand that if students are not immersed into diverse communities during their PETE field experiences, they may be reluctant to on their own seek or acquire an understanding of resources offered within those areas which could facilitate and enhance their teaching of students of color. This is particularly troubling as the literature highlights that in many instances urban schools are confronted with economic disparities. Thus, knowledge relevant to acquiring educational resources could serve as beneficial to those immersed in teaching assignments in diverse settings. Connection 5 was generated as Study 1, indicated that oftentimes the teacher educators’ failed to provide appropriate ethnorelative information in their teaching practices, and as a result Study 3 revealed that oftentimes their pre-service students’ struggled with their awareness of addressing aspects related to multicultural teaching within the curriculum. This is evidenced as 19 of 49 (39%) described that they were unaware as to how to plan school events to increase their students knowledge about cultural experiences of various
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racial groups, 15 of 44 (34%) were unaware of or did not learn in the PETE curriculum about including examples of racial and ethnic groups during their teaching applications, Also, its appears that many of the pre-service students’ are learning multicultural teaching knowledge and skills on their own, through previous schooling experiences and social interactions with ethnically diverse groups. This connection is further evidenced as Study 2, reveals that the pre-service students levels of racial awareness/attitudes of racial equality is significantly associated with their ethnorelative teaching competence. In this light, the more aware that pre-service students were of racial inequalities and injustices, the more competent they were from a multicultural teaching perspective. Results from this study indicate that it is important for teacher educators to implement CRP practices, in an effort to improve their pre-service students’ racial awareness, since it is associated with improving multicultural teaching skill competence. In addition, class discussions which stimulate conversations on racial/ethnic historical upbringings, cultural practices, and cultural differences would also be beneficial to pre-service students. Fostering this information could facilitate pre-service students’ awareness and sensitivity of culturally relevant pedagogical practices. Hopefully, PETE teacher educators can utilize several of the findings in this study, to as advocated by Burden et al (2004) facilitate their implementation of curricula and pedagogical practices to increase pre-services students’ cultural competence culturally relevant teaching practices within the PETE curriculum.
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Diagram 5.1; Summary of Study Findings and Potential Connections Teacher Educators’
Pre-Service Students
Study 1 Phenomenological Investigation of CRP Inclusion
Study 2 Quantitative Assessment of Racial Awareness and CRP Preparedness
Perceived a lack of specific inclusion related to teaching students of color
Study #3 Qualitative Content Analysis of CRP Preparedness Lacked understanding of planning school events to increase students diversity knowledge
Perceived a lack of multicultural historical knowledge in PETE curriculum
Excluded experiences/perspectives of ethnic groups in classroom teaching
Rarely discussed racial issues in class. Perceived as a sensitive and difficult issue to discuss.
Rarely consulted with their teacher educators or administrators regarding multicultural teaching
Lacked/feared exposure in ethnically/racially diverse settings Lacked in providing racial/ethnic awareness of diverse groups
‘
Lacked understanding of ethnically/racially diverse community resources Colorblind racial attitudes are significantly associated References with multicultural teaching skills
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Struggled with understanding some aspects of multicultural teaching skill
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VITA Joe Burden received his bachelor’s degree in physical education and exercise science from Norfolk State University in 1994 and his master's degree in exercise science with a specialization sports administration from Michigan State University in 1996. Prior to attending LSU, Joe’s experience includes a year as the Asst. Academic Coordinator for the football program at the University of Maryland, College Park, one year teaching middle school PE in P.G. County, Maryland, and a year as a Sport Management instructor at Delaware State University in 2000. Joe entered the doctoral program in Fall, 2001 and studied under Dr. Louis Harrison, Jr. He is interested in the social and psychological influences of race/ethnicity in teaching and learning in sport and physical activity. During his time at LSU, Joe has presented papers and posters at several national conferences including AERA, AAHPERD, NAKPEHE, and NPETE. In addition, he has authored and co-authored several manuscripts accepted for publication in journals such as the Chronicle of Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education, Quest, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and Race, Ethnicity, and Education. In addition, Joe was at the 2004 National Association of Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education (NAKPEHE) Convention in St. Petersburg, Florida for the 2004 Best Doctoral Student Research Poster Presentation. Currently, Joe is a Assistant Professor in the physical education teacher education program at Kean University in New Jersey
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